Although the guy that owns the shop must be ten or fifteen years older than me, I've known him for ages and if I've got the time, we chat. The coffee ...as a bit on the strong side for my tastes, but it was hot and there was plenty of it. The fact that it was so hot gave me a reason to stand around and chat while I sipped it and he served his other customers.By the time I'd walked home again, thankfully my head was clearer and I sat down with a bowl of cereal, after which I placed the newspaper. It was determined that he was legally drunk at the time ofthe accident. He was charged with vehicular homicide, found guilty andwas serving time at Folsom Prison when Peggy initiated her suit.Because of the strength of her case, his insurance company settledquickly for a figure well into seven figures. Peggy set up trusts forher girls that would guarantee they would always live in comfort. Thetrust was modified less than a year later to include Paul and Peggy'sthird child, Amanda. It turns. I had agreed to go to their banquet as part of the deal.It was a bigger deal than I thought.When I arrived, there were 200 people there. I was seated on the far side of the room, with a bunch of people I didn't know, for the rubber chicken portion of the night. Then I was ushered to the head table as Sara Markley walked up from the other side."Good evening. My name is Sara Markley and I have been asked to introduce our guest of honor," she said to the crowd. "We all know how hard it is to get. " He laughed with fierce satisfaction. His hand left my shoulder, and I felt the absence of pain as if it were its own kind of pain, until his hand slid up the back of my neck, under my hair. He slid his fingers into the thick red curls and gripped a fistful so hard I felt as if he would pull it out. I made a sharp involuntary sound, eyes still closed, as he used his handful of my hair to pull my head back. I was dragged further and further back until I was arched so far I wouldn’t.