” She trailed off and sighed. “Maybe we should all sit down so I can tell you why I’m here,” she suggested.I nodded and sat with her on the co...ch while Jennifer took a chair across the coffee table from her wisely. Ruth was surprised to see Mona here and was curious about Christina, but I didn’t give her a chance to ask questions about that. There’d be time for explanations later.“Alright,” I said, when they were settled. “You said Jamie sent you because he wasn’t sure he should come here in. I didn't dress at all, and I was probably close to a mentalbreakdown, until one day I just said to myself that I had to getit together. I looked at myself in the mirror, and was horrifiedat what I saw: I hadn't shaved in I don't know how long, my hairwas dirty and tangled - I was a real mess. The house waslittered with pizza boxes, Chinese takeout containers and Irealized that I had been basically a hermit, living on fastfood, when I thought of eating at all. I stripped off the filthyjeans I. Erica hadnt been very keen on the idea, and was reluctant to say yes. All that had been going through her mind up to this point was what if David became jealous, would he still love her or would he leave her? David had told her that he wouldnt get jealous, and that it was only this one time so in the end she capitulated, agreeing to be a whore for the record exec tonight. But what if I enjoy it? was the final thought she had before going to bed that evening. Now in the shower, she fantasized. I looked around the room and was relieved to see that Suzie and April were both just as red with embarrassment as I was."Tell me," Aunt Martha asked looking over the top of her comic book directly into my eyes, "were you really fucking Suzie," Aunt Martha paused to shift her gaze from my guilt ridden face to Suzie's, "or just pretending?" The question hung in the air scaring and thrilling us at the same time."After all," Aunt Martha continued after a long silence, "I'd be terribly upset if I.