Then they were going to demonstrate their firing formations to us.When the first round of shots rang out, Deborah screamed, and though my hands were s...ill on the concrete porch, I felt the pressure on the sides of my head, as she raised her hands to cover her ears. I sensed the fear that she had known when she'd walked the streets of Gettysburg that day.I got her to calm down, reminding her that the rifles did not use real bullets and that it was just a demonstration. She got a hold of herself,. We cheered as the Phi Kap/Omega float went by. Captain Jack was, of course, in the pilot's seat of the nautically themed float, taking it all way too seriously. He waved down at us, looking imperial in his Horatio Hornblower getup. I got the feeling he really didn't recognize us sitting there saluting him. He turned and waved to people on the other side of the street, never changing expression at all as he swiveled back and forth in front of his big spoked wheel. We laughed a lot at Jack's. And be careful on the scaffolding. There’s an eighteen-inch gap between the scaffold and the wall. Don’t step into space. Take questions to your team leader. Let’s get to work.”In spite of the fact that I had my Sharpie in my hand ready to go, I couldn’t. Doctors Haywood and Watts took me to meet Mayor Richardson and the press. Fortunately, Clarice was right beside me. We answered a bunch of questions and I smiled for the cameras. Whenever I had the urge to storm off so I could just go paint,. “కా…కానీ…అమ్మ…” అని మాటలు తడబడుతూ ఉంటే కళ్ళు విప్పార్చుకుని నాసళ్ళవంకే చూస్తున్నాడు. వాడి వెనకే రిజ్ వచ్చి,డోర్ తీసి, గబుక్కున వేసి, గడియ పెట్టింది.“అమ్మ సరే అంటేనే సుష్మ ఆంటీ బట్టలు విప్పింది. వెళ్ళు” అని తోసింది. జింక మీదకి ఆకలి మీద ఉన్న పులిలాగ ఎక్కేసేడు. ముద్దులు పెట్టుకుంటూ, సళ్ళు పిసికేస్తూ, చీకేస్తూ రెచ్చిపోయాడు.నన్ను కూర్చోబెట్టి, తొడలు విడ దీసి, ఆవురావుమని నాకడం మొదలు పెట్టేడు. రిజ్ వాడి బట్టలు ఊడదీసింది. చాలా బావున్నాడు కుర్రాడు. రిజ్ కూడా బుర్ఖా తీసేసింది.కింద బ్రా, పేంటీ తప్ప ఏమీ.