I was embarrassed when I had blown out every candle and within a few seconds they began to relight. I rolled my eyes at the old, self relighting candl...e trick. But everyone laughed and gave me a hard time so I made a point not to complain about it. Of course then my mom began the Happy Birthday song which everyone sang along with and then used her fingers to pinch out the candles and then took them off and began to cut the cake. I was embarrassed she had found some old clown paper plates from a. "Aww, baby, I got somethin' way better'n that for ya." He nuzzled myear and sniffed me. "Wanna try it?" Sure," I said. "If it's good." Oh yeah, sweet muffin, it'll knock yer socks off." He gave my bottom apinch and I jumped. He laughed. "Come on over ta my ride, and I'llcook ya a shot." I didn't understand what he meant but I walked withhim to a large black van with painted flames and sparks flowing out fromthe fenders. He slid open the door on the side and motioned me inside. We got. ‘Stop! Stop!’ Cried Emma pushing him off and sliding off the divan onto the floor. ‘I don’t want one of those things inside me!’ She picked herself up and stood to one side as Amelia, Betty and this naked man, presumably called Frank, stared at her in apparent astonishment. ‘I thought you’d be delighted, Emma dearest!’ Said Amelia soothingly. ‘No! Never!’ Cried Emma in alarm. ‘But it’s the real thing! Not a dildo! And I know you’ve had plenty of those inside you!’ ‘I just don’t like them!’ Emma. Her friends thought that she was Martha Stewart without the chilly pretension as no one could have been more down to earth and compassionate. And there was that wicked sense of humour. Life was good. She had everything anyone could imaginably want, and yet she was unfulfilled and bored. There was something missing that she could not quite describe, but she knew what she felt. Maybe it was that everything seemed to be unfolding according to some predetermined blueprint of perfection. She wanted.