They made it pretty good for the first six years or so; at least long enough to get the girls in school. Once the girls started school Allyson found a... job answering phones and doing odd typing jobs at one of the nearby car dealerships. After a while she was doing pretty well; she even gotten a few pay raises.Together Joey and Allyson worked real hard, saved up some money and made a down payment on a house. It wasn’t the greatest house in the world, but it looked like they might be able to make. After the girls had left for school I called the sheriff's office, inviting the sheriff to come out to see the ranch and talk to the kids and Mary whenever he wanted, to show there wasn't anything going on."I know there's nothing going on or someone would have said something. I still need to go through the motions though. From what the paper has in it, you have a gulag out there and I know that's bullshit! I'll come out after the kids have returned home from school. I need to talk to the kids. "I never realized how subservient and submissive Sally's persona truly was. "So what do you want Sally?" I want us to be together again. I'll do whatever it takes. If you want me to go to counseling, I will. I know I hurt you badly, tried to manipulate you with no respect as to who you were in my life, and the night you were in jail is a serious black mark on my decision making. But I love you. Give me another chance to prove it."I thought for a moment tapping my fingers on my desk, "I don't. But no girl's kiss had the same effect on me as Polly's did.As the year wore on, Polly's letters became fewer and farther between. Mind you, mine to her did as well, because I was struggling a little with my studies. Some of those lecturers seemed to be singling me out and pushing me to do better.Anyway I read into the longer gaps between Polly's letters, and reports being fed back to me by friends and relatives, that Polly and Phil were always around town together by then. Apparently neither.