She had lost count of the numbers. She had tried to comfort herself with the thought that the worst must now be over. And yet still it was not enough...for them. For her freedom, they had said, it was not enough that others had taken her. No, it would only be enough if she were to offer herself, for their amusement, invite strangers to use her as they watched - or did not watch, if they chose. And if they chose not to watch, well then, they would need to see the physical proof, glistening on. So far I'd been using my new wealth to satisfy small, immediate needs. I hadn't considered the long term consequences of the wealth I'd found myself with. Nor was I going to today, I resolved, hearing Bud and Harley laughing in my head at the thought."So, do us Santa Rosans root for the Giants?" I asked, nodding at the game. The San Francisco Giants were playing the Cincinnati Reds at Candlestick Park – excuse me AT&T Park, as the TV broadcast reminded me."We do," most of us," Ken told me. "A. The room looked as it had before. Nothing out of the ordinary. Strange...What a strange dream I had had last night. I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom. The outline of my wife?s curvaceous body in the shower made me smile. I whistled, a sweet attractive whistle. Mary laughed. "How did I know you were going to do that," she teased."You know me, girl. Always predictable." Oh yeah...right..." Mary sounded different today, almost gitty. She laughed. "I had the strangest dream last night.. They were at it for nearly two hours. Jason's tutoring responsibilities helped him tremendously, because talking to his friends forced him to practice explaining the coursework and thus prepared him for seminars and quizzes.Shortly before they finished Cecilia unexpectedly dropped by to check up on her boyfriend. She seemed satisfied when it was clear that Jason was behaving properly. He had not gotten dressed and was going over coursework with Ken. She gave him a kiss and continued her mid-day.