But she told you her innermost secret because she cares about you.."Simon slumped back into the chair and said nothing for severalminutes. Finally, h...e spoke."I've been really stupid haven't I? Do you think she'll ever forgiveme?" I would have put it more as unbelievably stupid but, as for yoursecond question, only Jacqui can give you an answer. Anyway, my workhere is done, it's now up to you."And, with that, Emily got up and walked to the front door.As she opened the door, Simon thanked her. There was just a ... quietude. A formal politeness. Vanessa and I had learned not to try to patch things over; just give them some time and the storm cloud would pass.Except this one didn’t.A weekend turned into a week. Pilar had become so intimately integrated into our family ... well, she was missed. Walker, of course, didn’t talk about it. He’s a boy, he’s 15, he’s ... girl-stupid.Vanessa invited Pilar to lunch at our loft on the second Saturday of her self-imposed exile to Brookside. Pilar. As I’d expected, a bell rang as I came through the front door. I turned to my left. There were several shelves of used junk on the wall, but only one thing caught my eye- a huge globe circa 1955 sitting right at eye level and above that was a wooden paddle hanging by a leather strap. It was about a foot and a half long and maybe four inches wide. I suddenly heard a woman’s voice behind me. “Checking out the old board of education, eh?” she asked in a friendly manner. “Hi, my name’s Lucy. Do you like to jack off to pictures? I sent you a few.If you smile when you see me Monday, I'll know you did.P.S. Don't show this stuff to anybody. This is a present from me to you!PPS: Do you ever think about me when you are doing it?" Monday morning, biology class, Mr. Ramos... "Bruce sat down next to me. I was hoping he didn't turn me into the principal as the girl perv of ninth grade. I glanced over. No bump in his pants today. No smile. He just stared at his book for most of the period..