I sat down next to him as I said, ‘Good morning, cutie. Did you sleep well?’ ‘Mm-hmmm,’ he said, rubbing his eyes. ‘How about you?’ ‘O..., I slept a little,’ I told him. ‘I kept on giving you back scratches after you fell asleep.’ ‘Really? Thanks, Ali,’ he said. ‘You’re welcome, sweetheart.’ I couldn’t resist slipping into the covers and lying next to him. I took the fingers of my left hand and tenderly ran them down the side of his face. ‘Are you excited for the party tonight?’ I asked. ‘I. [Sounds of food prep: refrigerator opening, pans clanging, etc. Humming, singing.]“Hey, did you forget something, little lady?”“Nope. The eggs and bacon are nearly ready; the biscuits are done and staying warm in the oven. Did you want OJ?“I see where your daughter gets what you fondly call her ‘sense of humor.’”[SMACK!]“Ouch, you brute. Who told you that you could spank the chef? I don’t recall that being permitted in my employment contract.”“Oh, it’s permitted. You obviously didn’t notice the. It was repetition. Circles. Squares. Focusing on the relaxation of his muscles and the perfection of his breathing, he felt himself drop into the hidden place within him, the place where the human and animal sides of his nature warred with each other and where all of the countless compartments of his mind resided.He had not dealt with his cousin’s death. He had not allowed himself to feel the totality of the loss. To grieve was to acknowledge it. It made it real to him. He didn’t want it to be. "Mommy!" Kathy pleaded as the driver untied her hair and hoisted her over his shoulder. "I want my Mommy," she lamented as he bent her over a rough wood sawhorse and secured her ankles and wrists to its unfinished legs."Your Mommy's gonna be just fine, little one," the driver positioned himself behind the helpless girl. "Now, how long has it been since you've made whoopee with a Trojan?"Kathy answered with a sharp "EEEeeeph? as the driver poked some kind of gritty lubricant up her back door and.