“{My thanks to those who have read and commented on previous chapters of this series. Welcome to new readers. Familiarity with characters and events described in previous chapters is recommended. Read chapters 1 through 23.}”

On Monday Huley interrupted my conversation with two guys who had applied for the painter helper jobs. I was in the process of telling them we could use them on Saturday when she broke in.

“Your phone was busy last night. Papa wants to talk to you,” she advised me before walking away.

The two guys and I watched her go. She was headed to a table in the back of the cafeteria where several jocks were sitting. I decided the one wearing a back brace must be Jake Trainer. I was grateful that Huley had not made a scene.

The two new hires grinned, probably thinking they knew what was behind Huley’s remark. They had no idea.

After classes I went by the house to re-connect the phone and the answering machine before making my rounds. Charles was working alone, putting the finishing touches on Sylvia’s addition. I spoke to him about building a picket fence along our back line when he finished the addition. “Tell Sylvia what you’re up to before you order the materials. She’s sure to want the fence to extend along her back line too,” I said. Charles grinned, saying he would talk to Sylvia.

Eric was working with the painting crew. The guys were all excited about the contract Mr. Waite had given us to raze the old house. Eric told me about a painter that was looking for work. Lacy’s brother-in-law had let him go due to lack of work.

“If he’s interested in helping demolish a house send him by to see me,” I told Eric. He told me Jack had mentioned he might call me to see if I could give him some work.

Huley had given my phone number to her father. Ollie Pettersen was gracious, grateful and accommodating. He praised me for coming to the rescue of Rosita in her time of need and apologized for the way he had told me I was not welcome in his home. He told me to send him a bill for securing the showroom and when I said there was no charge he offered to take me golfing. “Julita says you’re free on Wednesday afternoon. We’ll have a light lunch and try to get in 18 holes. Come by the lot,” he ordered. Refusing was not an option. I said okay.

The next day I took a sandwich and two pieces of fruit for lunch. If Huley was going to snub me I was not going to waste an hour in the cafeteria. I would go to the library for part of the lunch break.

That afternoon I asked the guys who played golf. Eric raised his hand. We made arrangements to go to a driving range and hit balls after work. I had not played golf since high school.

Eric and I hit a bucket of balls each and then he watched me hit two more, giving me tips as to how to shift my weight and tighten my swing. My goal was to not embarrass myself the following day. He offered to loan me his clubs. It was a basic set that would save me having to rent clubs. We went to a shop where I bought shoes and golf balls.

I talked to Eric about making the adjustment from the military to civilian life and was glad to hear him say that the job with our company had made it easy for him to adjust. We both avoided saying anything about Lacy. It occurred to me that he thought he had taken her away from me. I was just glad that Lacy and I were on speaking terms. Her sister was probably still mad at me for bruising her ass while playing whack.

There were two messages, one from Laura and one from Mr. Waite. Not having the brothel telephone number I returned Mr. Waite’s call. He wanted to see me the next day. “I want to go over the wrecking schedule with you,” he said.

My plan was to have our whole crew available on the day after Thanksgiving. The seven of us plus the two new college students would be able to make a good start if solid plans were in place. I wanted to put Charles in charge of the project but first I had to clear it with Jimmy. Then Charles and I could put the schedule together and fix responsibility. Mr. Waite sounded perturbed when I told him I did not have the schedule on paper yet. He wanted to see me anyway.

“What time do you want to see me?” I asked, wondering how I was going to tell Ollie I could not make our golfing date.

“Make it seven. Bring Laura. Wanda has something special planned for dinner. She’s had me break down the table to seat six,” Harold was in a jovial mood.

Bring Laura? Did she know? Was that why she had called? Table to seat six? Who’s the other couple? My mind was cluttered with these thoughts when the telephone rang.

“Honey, where were you?” Laura asked. “It doesn’t matter. Did you talk to Harold? I need something to wear. Can you take me shopping tomorrow?”

“Sure,” I said. I would call Ollie and say something had come up. Actually I was relieved that I would not be spending three hours on the golf course with him.

“Can we say 5 P.M.? I want to get some rest before tomorrow night. That will give us two hours to select two dresses and drive to the Waite’s. Bring me shoes and underwear and stockings. I’ll shower here and dress at the store.”

“What color shoes should I bring?”

“Black I think. Don’t bring the other things. I’ll call the dress shop and ask them to have some dresses ready to try on. I can pick up the underwear and stockings to go with the black shoes.”

“Sounds good, what’s this about?”

There was a short pause before Laura said, “It’s a surprise. Wait and hear it for yourself.”

“Aw, you can tell me. I hate surprises,” I whined.

“Randy?”

“Yes?”

“Bring money!” She was gone.

How am I going to find time to go to the bank? I thought. Why couldn’t we write a check for her purchases? Then I remembered, Laura didn’t like writing checks when we could pay cash. Her pay envelope was still in the jacket I had worn the night I made the journal entries for her. Problem solved.

“Damn it,” I muttered to myself when I saw the book Huley had loaned me. It was still on my desk. I had not returned it and now I would have to catch up with her at school.

Quarterly finals were less than two weeks off. There was to be a week long break between Thanksgiving and the new quarter which would begin the first Monday in December. I really could not afford to take time to play golf on Wednesday afternoon, the day I usually spent in the library. But Ollie had been adamant about wanting to thank me properly. I didn’t call him to cancel.

I had an idea. I would use the shoes as an excuse for visiting the brothel to interview the girls. While getting my clothes lined up for the next day, I set the alarm clock for 4 A.M.

“What are you doing here?” Ruby Mae asked when she saw me come through the back door. She was standing next to the kitchen table, ready to take a seat. But when she saw me she continued to stand, towering over me in four inch heels.

“I’m bringing Tess some shoes,” I said to the new girl, thinking that I did not owe her an explanation but the other answer that popped into my mind would create a bad atmosphere and that was something I wanted to avoid. I had risen at 4 A.M for better reasons than upsetting the serenity Laura strived to maintain in the workplace.

“I don’t like strange men popping in when I’m on break,” she spat at me as she took a seat.

The small piece of material around her waist revealed her shapely legs and the fishnet bra she was wearing did little to hide her small breasts. Her legs and tits were exactly as I had envisioned on Friday night when Wanda and I had picked up she and Brenda Sue at the airport.

Rachel joined us, poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table. She listened to me tell Ruby Mae that I had also come to interview her and her coworkers for a paper I was doing for school.

“You can interview me Randy,” Rachel volunteered. “What do you want to know?”

I took a seat, deciding I would take advantage of Rachel’s offer.

“The other night when I met Ruby Mae she said something I want to follow up on,” I said to Rachel before turning to Ruby Mae.

“Do you remember saying that whores get blamed for everything?”

Ruby Mae eyed me cautiously with something between disdain and curiosity in her expression. “What about it?”

“I was wondering if the others feel the same. How about you Rachel? Do you believe that prostitutes get blamed for everything?”

“Why do you call us prostitutes? Why don’t you call us whores or hookers?” Ruby Mae cut in before Rachel could answer my question. It was just as well. Rachel was deep in thought.

“Prostitutes sounds more respectful than whores or hookers,” I answered Ruby Mae.

Rachel had formed her answer and was ready to reply. Timidly, she looked at Ruby Mae for clearance to have the floor but Ruby Mae was not ready to yield.

“You know why we’re called hookers?” Ruby Mae directed her question at me, a confident smirk on her lips.

“I know,” Rachel raised her hand.

“I’ve heard,” I said.

Ruby Mae didn’t let either of us answer. “General Hooker let whores follow his troops. They got the name Hookers because they were Hooker’s girls.”

“It was during the Civil War,” Rachel was moved to add.

“All wars have had camp followers,” I said, not to challenge Ruby Mae’s superior knowledge. I was saying it to reinforce my premise that moral decay had contributed to society breakdown including the fall of the Roman Empire.

“See, that’s what I’m talking about. Whore’s get blamed for everything,” Ruby Mae said triumphantly. I noticed that she was now tolerating my presence.

“That’s what I was going to say,” said Rachel, a downhearted look on her face.

The other girls joined us, rowdy and buoyant. Ralph appeared and then Laura. She was surprised to see me.

“What are you doing here?” She bent down to pinch my cheek and give me a quick kiss.

“I brought your shoes,” I said, disguising the real reason I was there. She took the shoes from me and the brown envelope containing the night’s take from Ralph and disappeared up the stairs.

As the girls came and went, taking turns showering and returning in a variety of comfortable clothes I kept the conversation close to the same theme. I was looking for their perspective on modern day society and the whore’s role in shaping morality standards.

Naturally I ate breakfast but did not overdue it. Having breakfast with them was part of my cover. Taking notes would have made what I was doing obvious to Laura and I doubted she would tolerate it. My memory would not be perfect but if I assigned a quote one of the girl’s made to the wrong name, Mrs. Davenport, my history instructor would have no way of knowing. As long as I got the quotations reasonably close to the way it had come out of the girl’s mouth my deception would not be found out.

I made one blunder. I happened to mention to the girls what I was doing.

“Randy’s interviewing us for a paper he’s writing,” Kelley said to Laura when she joined us. She had changed to cut-offs and one the sweat shirts we had bought while on her birthday shopping trip.

Laura was about ready to take a seat on my lap when she heard Kelley reveal what I was doing, or trying to do.

“What?” She asked, jumping from my clutches. “You’re not!”

For the second time Laura was kicking me out of the brothel. On the way out the door I heard Teresa say, “Spell my name right Randy.”

“What’s got you so attracted to them?” Laura asked. She had followed me out the door. I turned and took her in my arms. Reluctantly she let me.

“I came to see you,” I said, running my hands over her back. It was 6 A.M. I needed to go home and write down as many of the girl’s quotes as I could remember. But I wanted to hold her as long as I could too.

“What do we have to do with what took place over 1600 years ago?” Laura was rubbing my back.

“I see it as a parallel,” I answered, moving my right hand to her rump.

“You’ve got to stop coming here unless you’re invited,” she had one hand on my ass and was letting me pull her to me.

“You could save me a trip,” I ventured to say.

She was very receptive to my kiss. We were at the back door of the brothel locked in one another’s arms. She pulled her lips from mine.

“I could, couldn’t I?” She took me by the hand and lead me back inside. The girls around the table looked up in surprise when they saw that I was with Laura. She placed her hand on my chest and backed me to the cabinet counter. “Stand here, do not sit down again,” she ordered as she ran up the stairs.

“What’s she doing?” Kelley spoke up. The girls were looking at one another, speculating among themselves as to what Laura was up to.

“Looks like she’s taking off early, right Randy?” Tanya said, looking at me. I nodded confirmation, smiling to myself, not moving from where Laura had told me to stand.

Laura returned with her shoes and a small case. She turned to address the girls and Ralph.

“I’ll be back at this same time tomorrow. Until I get back Tanya will be in charge. For the next 24 hours there is to be no bickering and no horsing around. Does everyone understand? Can I depend on you?” Laura looked from girl to girl, getting each to acknowledge that she understood what Laura had told them.

“What are you going to do? Is it what I think it is?” We heard Kelley ask as we reached the door.

“We’re going to do whatever he wants and everything I want,” Laura said as she pushed me out the door.

“Why Tanya? Did she know she was going to be in charge?” I asked when we were in the car and on our way. Laura was leaning against me with her head on my shoulder. I wondered if she would nod off before we got home.

“There were several reasons for choosing her and yes, we had a long talk last night. She’ll do fine,” she said without naming the reasons Tonya was the best choice to serve as temporary Madam. It was not important. I was glad that she was coming home with me. Too bad I had to go to class.

When we pulled into our driveway Laura was asleep, her head on my shoulder and her hand inside my shirt. I opened my car door and was preparing to carry her inside when she opened one eye. “I can walk,” she murmured when she realized where we were. After getting her inside I went back to the car to retrieve her shoes and the case.

By the time I got back she had stripped down to her panties and was standing next to the bed, her eyes on the door, waiting for me to return.

“You don’t have to leave yet. Come to bed with me for just a bit.”

Forgetting my plan to record what the girls had told me that morning I hurriedly stripped to my shorts and joined her in the bed.

“You’re tired and sleepy. I’ll stay till you go to sleep.”

“I’m not that sleepy. I want to enjoy you before I go to sleep.”

“I’m glad you decided to come home with me. I could come pick you up every day. Why did you decide to come home today?”

“I told you I was going to pay more attention to you so you don’t stray. Besides, this is your early day. We’ll have all afternoon before we go to the dress shop. Or we can go shopping early and come back and fool around. Which would you prefer?”

I was holding her close, rubbing her back and the cheeks of her ass through the thin panties. She couldn’t see the alarm on my face but when I didn’t answer she pulled away to look at me, puzzled that I had not said anything.

“Let me decide,” I said, stalling. I didn’t dare say I was going golfing with Ollie Pettersen that afternoon. I drew her back to me so her cheek would be next to mine and my face would be out of her appraising view.

“Or you could stay with me. Can you skip a day of school, only a half-day really?”

She was running her fingers through my hair and one of her legs was wrapped around mine. “I’ll give you a trim,” she offered.

When I did not respond she pushed away and frowned. “Am I being a bad influence on you?”

“You’re being a bad influence in a good way,” I said, feeling her pelvis being pressed to mine. She grinned and kissed me.

“Tell me if I’m asking too much. It’s just that having you here all day would be heaven. I can sleep so much better if you are here.”

“Okay, you go to sleep. I’ll study and when you wake up we’ll do whatever you want.”

She had pushed the right button when she said she could sleep better if I was with her. I would call Ollie and cancel. If she woke up and wanted to fuck, we would fuck. If she wanted to shop, we would shop.

“Are you sure you can skip classes? I’m not sleepy now.”

She was getting playful. She had discovered the proximity of her tits on my chest and her pelvis next to mine had gotten my attention. She moved her leg up and down mine and we kissed again.

“You’ve got to get some rest.”

Since I had decided to grant the wish she craved I wanted it to count for something. I wanted her to get some much needed rest. I rubbed her back and reluctantly detached myself from her leg and my erection away from its soft harbor.

“Don’t you want me?”

“Of course I want you. You’re irresistible. But I know you too. You’re too generous. You need rest. One of us needs to be the adult here.”

“I’m adult. I’m the big sister and I want you.” Her leg was curled over mine and my erection had found its way through the hole of my boxers. It was evident that the bottom of her panties was wet.

“I want you to get some sleep.” I said, knowing that what I was saying sounded feeble.

“You didn’t hear me. I am not being generous. I need you more than sleep. Do you hear me? I need you.”

With that I kissed her and roller her onto her back. She was smiling, having won. I wanted to believe her. She had said she needed me. She giggled when I lowered her panties.

“You think you are smart, don’t you?”

“Don’t talk, let’s just do it,” she whispered as she tugged on my shorts.

“If I fuck you will you go to sleep afterward?”

“I’ll sleep like a baby,” she assured me, having found my cock. She was moving it up and down her wet slit.

“We fit just right,” she said when I was fully seated.

“Don’t talk,” I laughed as we began to move together.

I wanted to think I was being generous by acquiescing to her request. Had she tricked me into believing that she really needed me and that I was doing this to fulfill her needs? Or was she paying more attention to me so that I would not stray? I could not last long but neither could she. This was Wednesday and we had last had sex on Sunday when we did C.C. Stone. This was not a game. It was a prelude to sleep.

“Stay like this,” she said as she untangled her legs from mine.

“Can you go to sleep now?”

“Yes but not yet. I want to enjoy you a while longer.”

“We’ll mess up the bed.”

“I don’t care. Stay like this.”

“It could be like this all the time if you would let me pick you up every morning.”

“I know but it wouldn’t work.”

“Why?” I wanted to find out why she couldn’t come home and sleep in her own bed every day.

“You would miss too much school. I would beg you to stay with me and you would. Then I would say I couldn’t sleep until we had sex. Then I would want you to stay in me and we would mess up the sheets. Now do you see why it wouldn’t work?”

She was grinning up at me. I was propped on my elbows, grinning too.

“It sounds like it would work to me. We’ll stop and order the washer and dryer while we’re out.”

“Okay, kiss me.”

I bent down to kiss her and my deflated cock bounced out.

“See, the bed is going to be messed.”

“I don’t care. Kiss me, kiss me a lot.” I did. We kissed for several minutes like teenagers. I had never seen Laura more adoring.

I went to the bathroom and returned with a warm washcloth and a towel. I cleaned us up with the washcloth and placed the towel under her butt.

“Can you sleep now?” I asked as I got back into bed. She was drowsy but still wanted to cuddle. It took another thirty minutes for her to fall asleep, thirty minutes of me asking if she had really needed me and her reassuring me that she had. Thirty minutes of her wanting to know if she had asked too much and me assuring her that I wanted to stay home with her more than anything.

It was mid morning before I dared leave the house. I needed to talk with Ollie and did not want to take the risk of waking Laura with the sound of my voice.

Lacy saw me use the pay phone outside the grocery store where she worked. I was sure she would tell Eric that I was there at 10:30 A.M. and ask him if he knew why I had skipped school.

Ollie had not arrived at the lot yet so I tried the house. Rosita said her husband had just left. She wanted to know why I needed to speak with him, probably suspecting it had something to do with our golf outing. I told her something had come up and that I was not going to be able to keep our date. Rosita, in her considerate way, said that Ollie would be disappointed but she would give him the message.

I tried the used car lot again. Ollie had still not arrived. When I exited the phone booth Lacy was there.

“I want to thank you for giving Eric the job. He really likes working for you guys,” she said, her eyes searching mine for verification that what she was saying was sinking in.

“Hey, I want to thank you for introducing us. Eric is doing a good job. I like him.”

“I’m glad. At first I was hesitant about getting you two together,” she said, looking at her feet.

“There was no reason not to,” I tried to assure her.

“He knows. You know, he knows and he’s okay with it.”

“That’s good,” I said, knowing what she was trying to say. I patted her shoulder and she gave me a hug before turning to go back inside. I wanted to get home, hoping Laura had not discovered that I was gone. She had.

I heard her voice as soon as I entered the kitchen.

“Fuck you! Don’t you even think of harming him!” She was screaming, rage in her voice and tears streaming from her eyes.

“Go to hell! Don’t ever call this number again!”

I grabbed the receiver out of her hand. She pounded on my chest. “How could you play golf with him?” She screamed at me, confirming who was on the phone.

“Were you threatening to harm me Mr. Pettersen?”

“Don’t talk to him,” Laura was trying to rip the phone from my hands, making me nearly miss Ollie Pettersen calling me a little bastard.

“So that’s your angle. I knew there was something warped about you. I thought you were nosing around my daughter because you’re a gigolo but now I see you were doing it for that bitch.”

I was having a hard time concentrating. Ollie was shouting and Laura was too. My pulse was pounding. I said the first thing that came to mind.

“She’s my sister. You burned a hole in her butt and caused untold….”

“Fuck you. She deserved it!”

I visualized the blue vein in Ollie’s forehead, amused to think that it could pop at any time.

With Laura crying and trying to snatch the phone out of my hand and with Ollie yelling in my ear I was unnerved but managed to answer his insult without yelling.

“She deserved it? Is that what you would say if I burned your sister’s ass with a cigarette?”

“You wouldn’t. She doesn’t sell herself. I would kill you.”

“Or you daughter?”

“Keep my daughter out of it. Don’t try to see her. Don’t go near her.”

I wondered if he was inside his office with the door closed. Customers in the showroom were overhearing his side of the conversation. Employees were overhearing him scream and must be wondering who the recipient of his wrath was. I wanted to make it clear that Huley would never hear from me the reason her father had turned against me. But I also wanted to put the idea into his head that I was not above making him pay, through his daughter if I was provoked to use her.

“I’m not going to bring your daughter into it. Huley will never hear from me what you did to Tess.”

Laura had retreated to the kitchen but I heard another outburst from her at the mention of Tess.

“And don’t call Julita that name again.”

Why don’t you ask Julita the endearing name she calls me, I wanted to say. But involving Huley in this was the last thing I wanted. Instead, “There’s something I’ve wanted to ask you Mr. Pettersen.”

“Go ahead; ask your question before I cut this short. After that we’re finished.”

“You don’t smoke but you brought cigarettes with you. Was putting out a cigarette on my sister’s ass preconceived? Did you buy the cigarettes with that in mind?”

“I knew she wouldn’t put out. She had it coming.” He had turned the volume down. His employees in the outer office would not be able to hear him admit that he had contemplated the act in advance.

“Can you imagine the damage you caused?”

“I can. What of it?” Ollie said smugly.

“What’s the name of your attorney Mr. Pettersen? Our attorney will be in touch with him or her.”

“It’s none of your business. That slut has no claim with me.”

“Rosita told me she still keeps in touch with the business. She will know who does your legal work.”

“Stay away from my wife. And she’s Mrs. Pettersen to you. Show some respect.”

“Mrs. Pettersen told me to call her Rosita on Saturday night when…no, it would have been Sunday morning when your wife said to please call her Rosita.”

A click followed by a buzz told me the line was dead. Ollie Pettersen had hung up on me. I sat on the bed and held my head in my hands, wondering if it was the last thing I said that made Ollie end our conversation.

I had anticipated the discussion but had pictured that it would take place on the golf course. If Ollie did not bring up the subject of my referring to his daughter as Tess I was planning to do so. I was unprepared for it to take place over a phone line. Part of my strategy was to react to his facial expressions. Not being able to see if my suggestions and innuendos were affecting him had me at a disadvantage. The shock of finding Laura speaking with him was pure horror. Laura, where was she?

I found her in the kitchen, washing her face at the sink. She was naked, her sleep having been interrupted by Ollie’s telephone call. When she saw me she began to cry again.

It took thirty minutes to get her back into bed and then she was still so upset that she didn’t sleep for another hour. She cried and told me she was sorry she had put me in danger. I told her she was not at fault, that it was my own doing. She implored me to refrain from any further association with Ollie and his family. She said her ass was mended and she didn’t want to think about how Ollie’s voice had unsettled her.

I held her and tried to console her, thankful that she was no longer angry that I had agreed to play golf with Ollie. When she finally slid into a slumber it was a jerky restless sleep.

She sat up in bed with alarm when we heard a knock at our front door. I put on my shorts to answer it. “What was that?” She asked when I got back to the bedroom.

“Nothing, just a delivery, go back to sleep.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” she murmured, drawing my hand around her and to her tummy.

The package was from home, birthday presents from my family. I had tossed the box on my bed before rushing back to the bedroom to assure Laura that everything was okay.

I had unplugged the phones so there was no danger of Ollie or anyone else making them ring. All in all I was satisfied with the seeds I had sown. The “no, it would have been Sunday morning,” shot was superb. I had refrained from bringing up that his wife was dressed for sleep when she rejoined me in their family room. Though her action had been innocent, it would be hard to explain to Ollie why she had fallen asleep in my arms.

What I was working toward when Ollie rudely ended the conversation was an apology but he was not the least bit remorseful. It was just as well. Laura would not have spoken to him even for only long enough to hear him say he was sorry.

I wanted him to know the amounts of the doctors and hospital bills. But I knew Laura would not accept financial reimbursement. She would say she was being a whore. I wanted him to know how much she had suffered mentally, the sleepless nights and the bad dreams had only subsided recently.

She had been mended physically and she was mending mentally. With my actions I had brought back the mental anguish. I was the one to apologize. But Laura did not expect that. She was fearful for what could happen to me. She wanted it all to end.

I waited until 4:30 to wake her with a series of kisses to the forehead and face, thankful that she had gotten a few hours sleep. Feeling the wet towel under her butt, she dashed off to the bathroom. I plugged in the phone. It rang immediately.

After the answering machine went through its routine, Ollie’s voice came through loud and rough. “You asshole, how dare you take your phone off the hook. I’m not finished with you.”

Laura’s head popped out of the bathroom as I picked up the receiver. I motioned for her to go back and get ready. “You’re the one that hung up on me, Mr. Pettersen.”

“You’re full of piss and vinegar, aren’t you? You’re real brave on the phone. Wait till I get you alone. You just wait.”

“Is that why you called Mr. Pettersen, to threaten me?”

“I want to know why you were in my house Saturday night. The neighbors saw you leave.”

“Sunday morning, that’s when you’re neighbor saw me tiptoeing out your front door,” I corrected him, beginning to enjoy myself. Should I tell him a dog’s barking had wakened me and that I had discovered my hand was on his wife’s tit? I must be careful, not wanting Rosita to have to answer questions.

“Why did you go inside? Why didn’t you drop her off and leave?

“Rosita was beside herself. The break-in had been a traumatic experience I guess. She asked me to come in so I did.”

His end of the phone line was silent. I wondered if Ollie had hung up on me again. “What happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“Inside my house, what happened?”

“I can tell you what did not happen. Would that satisfy you?”

I knew I was sticking my neck out. Laura was busily getting dressed but she was watching me, motioning for me to end the conversation, nervous and edgy.

“All right, I’ll bite. What didn’t happen,” Mr. Ollie Pettersen said sarcastically.

“I don’t smoke. I did not purposely buy cigarettes and put one out on Rosita’s ass when she wouldn’t give me what I asked for.”

Laura was screaming, rushing me from the other side of the room, beating on my chest but it didn’t matter. I let her pound the frustration out of her system.

Ollie Pettersen had hung up on me again.

“{To be continued}”