Blake took her to the doorway andgave her a good shove. She staggered, almost losing her balance again,and came up against the opposite wall, scratchi...ng her palms on the roughbrick. She looked back, hoping and fearing that he would lock her in.But Blake was still there.He came inside, the men loitering beyond him, trying to see past hisbroad torso. He said nothing, just eyeing her body and clothes."Please," whispered Ann, crumpling down to her knees at the foot of thewall, feeling more. The group, the Gang and Rebecca, had decided it was time to try to get Arlene to see Dan in a more sexual way. Sarah was chosen as the main instigator. The fact that she did not have to pretend to drool over her daddy was considered a real plus.The Gang had always been frustrated because Rebecca refused to get directly involved with Arlene. It was because of her earlier time with Dan. Phyllis was the one who began selling a new idea."I've started Arlene in the aerobics class. So far, she has. Everyone has to make their own choices in life, and Frère Michel has lived a good one, despite his problems with demon rum. He holds up what he’s made.It’s an oleander flower barely the size of my thumbnail, incredibly detailed and so delicate I can see dew on the petals. I imagine I can almost smell the sweet perfume. “That’s beautiful,” I breathe, entranced by the intricate carving.“One more thing, then it’ll be ready to chase away all your demons, cher.” He bores a hole in the stem and. But it wasn't real unless it was real, so he'd agreed. His week started Sunday morning, since they'd agreed that it was too much to land him with cleaning up from the holidays. But there'd still been dirty clothes left over on Sunday morning, so that's where he'd started, learning to separate the colours and the whites under his mum's watchful eyes. She'd said that he could ask for her advice anytime he wanted, but she was going to watch him like a hawk in the laundry, they couldn't afford any.