“Well, I could come by and see if they’re the kinds of things I can fix,” he said.“That would be good,” she said, weakly.“How about this a...fternoon?” he asked.“Okay,” she said, feeling like a little girl, for some reason. “I’ll see you then.”She hung up. Her hand was trembling. She felt like she had just made some kind of horrible mistake. She worried about it all morning, and found herself doing the same things over and over again. She changed the towel on the rack in the kitchen three times,. He had gotten her to work out daily and tone her body into looking like she was in college again. He bought her the sexiest clothes and jewelry to wear and paid for weekly beauty appointments. I liked the changes in her appearance but wasn’t sure about the cost to our relationship. Jamal had turned her into one of his high class escorts and she loved it. I could tell she looked and was worth top dollar and was nothing like the girls you see on the street corners. But Jamal did at times. “Thanks for the refill” Gary said.“My pleasure!” I grinned, taking a seat next to Chris. While the men enjoyed the game, my eyes were mostly on Charles, watching as he took his first sip. Right away, he stopped, moving the cup down as he stared confusingly into it. He could tell something was off, but not exactly what. It took everything I had not to laugh out loud, turning my gaze away from him just as he looked suspiciously over at me. But with no proof or acknowledgement from me, he pushed. Speaks?”“Um, yes I did Malcolm.” The silence was awkward before she said in a threatening, discouraging way, “Why on earth did you send that to me young man?”“You called me Mallory Ms. Speaks.” Clearing his throat, he went on, “I ... I wanted to let you know that I knew who George Mallory was. And I wanted you to know that I ... I write poetry.”“Have you been writing poetry for a long while?”“It’s the only poem I have ever written.”When she peremptorily quoted: “Are the peaks I seek as worthy.