..Why had the godscursed him to such a short, wretched life. He hurt so badly as he crawledalong the floor once more. The curse was destroying him fro...m the inside,and when it was done he knew, there'd be nothing left but an empty shell.Like the fey goddess entombed in moonlight in front of him. He had beendamned since he was four years old, when he hadn't been able to stop hisfather. He'd tried, but he had failed. He had failed to save the onlyperson in his life who had ever truly loved him.. Stacey and I were very comfortable with them and they seemed to like us as well. We had been on the beach for a few hours and I was still the only one with a suit on. Stacey had become very comfortable nude but I just couldn't bring myself to strip."Are you ever going to drop those trunks?" Stacey asked me. "We may have to pull them off you."I ignored the teasing and coaxing and ordered a drink from the roaming waitress, maybe I just needed to loosen up.We all had a few drinks and were getting. The problem was, she would have to cover up her affair. I disliked that solution, based on my own experience. But I wondered if, for Penny, the pragmatic solution, rather than the dogmatically ideological one, was right. I was struggling to separate my personal feelings for Penny, her relationship with Terry, their relationship with Zeke and Tasha, and the potential effects on NIKA. I had too many damned responsibilities and they conflicted with each other.What were my priorities? I’d been. "Cheryl, got a job. She works morning, so no time to come out and play," I said with a innocent smile."Ah that's a shame, but it's good to see you back," he spoke loud enough, so that any of the regulars, who happened to be in the place, would know the whole story first hand."Thanks," I said.After I finished my breakfast, I pulled and pulled on the bike's engine and I finally got it to crank. I rode it to the mall for my morning walk, even though I knew I should go straight to the preacher's.