I reached across the table, brushed her hair lightly, cupped her cheek, and rubbed her pale freckles with my thumb.“I love you too, Sia.”“Enough... to buy me some new sneakers?” she asked brightly with a hopeful grin.I managed to hold the line - no new sneakers. The day passed with me shoveling the drive, vacuuming, and mopping the kitchen floor. My darling daughter took off, picked up by Lara and her mother “to check out what’s new at the mall”. What could have changed in the six days since she’d. Almost no one knows it there.It was Friday and we just wanted to get out of uniform. We were making our way past the barbershop when a familiar van stopped and a window rolled down. I could see Jenny Martin driving, and Hannah Murkowski leaned out. "Joe, Kevin what'cha doin'?" Walking back to the barracks." We're going to drive up to Sunset Beach to get pizza and then drive the rest of the way around the island. Want to come?"Here was a no brainer. I remembered the last time I went on a drive. This was my secret. ‘You’re scared, I know,’ he placed his hands on my shoulders and drew me towards him. I could not escape the touch of my own sweet imagination. It knew me so well, what can I say. ‘You’re teasing me by being here,’ I muttered, ‘if you really cared about me, then you wouldn’t be here,’ he squeezed my shoulder tightly. ‘I want you to know that everything will be okay.’ ‘Everything- will- be- okay?’ I stabbed the words back at him as I turned to look at him once more, those. Eddie starred my wife down pretty good and teased about us having the only cool place in the neighborhood. Without further discussion, Eddie stood up and began undressing by pulling off his shirt. Before long the only items remaining was Eddie's jockey shorts and a t-shirt that were both coming off quickly. Eddie got his shirt off and then was mostly out of his pants When the comments began from my wife. She was not complaining one bit, but rather: she was mesmerized at seeing Eddie's.