Donna, you come down the mall with me, buy some stuff for them while I get bunks and bedding. You good with that?' I realized I was sounding sorta fie...rce, but hell, I was under stress. They nodded, and Kirsty put an arm round Annie, pointed the kids up the stairs. Annie went with her like a zombie, never said a word, and I began to worry some about what this was gonna cost. Deal with that later. I stomped out to the truck and Donna followed me, looking kinda scared. I made an effort.'Damn,. Her husband nodded.‘Sweety.’ The goth girl talked to me in a belittling voice. ‘You’re getting a bit loud. Let’s say we go back to our room, then we can drink from the minibar and you’re free to talk as loudly as you want.’‘Sure.’ I said. No fears. No hesitations. No social awkwardness. I just felt relieved.The goth girl grabbed my arm and guided me to the elevator. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t all that drunk yet. I’d only drank one margarita. I probably could’ve walked on my own, but I did like. ” Oh joy! Patrick came around to help me out of the car, and by the time we’d turned to face the house, a man was coming towards us. “Hi, can I help you?” he asked proprietorially. “I thought this was Belvedere cottage?” I asked. “We’ve rented it for the weekend.” He looked taken aback. “There must be some mistake. It is Belvedere, but we’ve rented it,” he answered politely but firmly. “Shit,” Patrick ground out. “Look, I’ve got the paperwork right here.” He fetched it out from the car and. I began tothink about our games. Any gambler will tell you what comes next. Imissed the thrill. I missed the excitement, the wonder, thenervousness. So, I dug out the lipstick from my bag. I put it on. Icould taste the color on my lips, even though I couldn't really see it.I kept the lipstick on for about an hour. I didn't go anywhere, butthe feeling was thrilling.The next night, the feeling returned. I put the lipstick on again.But this time, I needed more. Like the gambler, I guess,.