The black bartender looked me over curiously. “What do you want?”“What’s on tap? You got a Budweiser?” I asked.He shrugged and silently pour...ed me a glass. I pulled out my wallet and laid a five on the bar. He left it there and just watched me. I drank some beer as the room watched me. “Is Mister Canty or Mister Hammett in?”The bartender nodded. “I’m Ron Canty. What do you want?”“Nice to meet you, sir. If you could just sign one of these bar napkins for me, I’ll finish my beer and get out of. But when a company of men and women, mostly young but also some who were old, wizened and balding, strode together singing songs of praise to the celestial bodies and emboldened by the righteousness and joy of their shared faith, what possible harm could the evil spirits cause? And it ensured as well that any predator, however fierce, kept a prudent distance knowing that the pilgrims were armed with flint-tipped spears and knives that would send them scampering back to their dens with their. "I can't eat this," I whispered. "Garlic's dangerous for me. Likean allergy."Roger raised his eyebrows, wondering what that could be about. Obviouslyhe wanted to know if it was like ginger. I wasn't going to explain it tohim in front of the others, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell himabout the effect garlic had on me at all. So I sat there watching theothers eat, feeling a little jealous. I did pick out a few shaved stripsof carrot and eat them, until I noticed a bit of garlic juice on. When she came out, she stuffed the bag into her handbag and took me by the hand. “Come on, you can come stay at mine. We have a lot of fun ahead of us, and you have clean panties for tomorrow!” The smile she gave me as she said it reminded why I was following this girl round like a lost puppy.-------------------------------------- We headed back to Sarah’s and it turned out we had the house to ourselves. She leapt on me immediately, kissing me with her hands all over me. I was ecstatic, was I.