I had told my mother, long ago, to sign up for the emergency repair service offered by the power company. There had been a number of times when that a...vice had paid off.I had learned about the family from some friends at church. They lived in a small town in northern Michigan and had traveled down to the cities to get medical help for their son. Having no place to stay, they would have probably ended up in a shelter with a group of other families. From the information I had received, it sounded. I blinkedquickly, my brain not working quickly enough to figure out what it was.Carolyn had jumped the length of the bed. On top of me. Thud! Shelanded on top of me and laid there. Her dead weight was crushing me.Then she shifted position until she was sitting on my stomach. Sheraised herself and came down ass first on my stomach. I couldn't breatheeither in or out. She bounced up and down on my stomach several times.Finally she simply said to me with a snarl, "Had enough?" I nodded. To start with, the hotel bill was growing daily and would ultimately eat away my fairly substantial but still limited savings. In addition, my chicken pox story had been weak to start with and wouldn't cover me beyond this week, which was drawing to an end. By the next Monday, now just four days away, I'd have to get myself back into the office, which would expose me.Susan and I were discussing this problem in the early evening of the second day with the same futility that our previous talks. " That's OK, Katie. It happens to all of us. Anything you'd like to talkabout? Can I help?"I smiled at him. "No Stan, but thanks, this is something I have to dealwith." Several other teachers overheard the exchange, and I could hear themwhispering about it. My quick popularity after coming to teach at theschool, and, frankly, my trim figure and almost beauty-queen looks hadwon me some jealousy among some of the older teachers. I had not beenable to break through the jealousy in some.