Melissa asked, “She’s a nerd?”Although she would never have thought to apply the term to a black woman, Shauna answered, “Yes, she’s a nerd....”Tanya was the first woman who actually challenged Abe to be a better person. She asked questions that made him think. They discussed topics that went beyond sex, drugs, and music. He was even keeping up with political events so that he could hold his own in discussions with her. Defensive, Abe said, “She has plans for the future. She wants to go to college. Usually, anyways.“Sorry,” he said, rather unconvincingly. “It’s just been one of those nights. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything. It’s just that you struck me as a really open-minded woman, and I didn’t think you’d be offended by my comment. Would you say you’re open-minded?” he asked, stressing the last two words in an odd way. One of what nights, Kate wondered momentarily to herself. One where you need to “find someone for a good, hot fuck”? But then she lost the track of. The doctor made an effort at a smile. ‘He’s out of surgery. The bullet’s been removed, and the bleeding has all been stopped.’ ‘Will he be okay?’ The doctor nodded. ‘He should make a full recovery.’ ‘What happened to him?’ The doctor shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t really tell you more unless he or a family member consents.’ ‘Where is he now?’ ‘Post-op recovery. He’ll be there for at least a day.’ ‘When can I–we–see him?’ ‘Give him a few hours to rest and come out of the anaesthesia.. Now we have to set up camp in the dark oh and what about your daughter? He said to tell her to chill there until he gets out. Anyway, I head back down stairs to tell Chelsea the news. "Hey your dads gonna be a little late." I said. "I know, he just text me. Guess I'm stuck here. Can I watch TV or something?" She asked. "Sure, I got a ton of movies for you to pick from."She goes over and picks a stack of DVDs and starts going through them. I had completely forgotten a quarter of that stack was.