Work sucked, and the only thing that had gotten her through it was the thought of meeting her friend Sandy for some drinks and a ladies’ night out. ...ven out in the parking lot, she had dinged some stranger’s door getting out of her car. Just NOTHING had gone right, and now Sandy just called and said the baby sitter had the measles or something and she couldn’t come out. So here Ruby sat, all dolled up in her favorite purple dress, but alone, pissed off, and not feeling very much of anything. It was warm out, but Joan wanted the caffeine to help clear her head, so she took the cup that was offered to her as well."Thank you," said Joan, still nervous."You're welcome," replied the other woman with a warm smile.Ken knew that Joan felt this should be awkward, but in truth, she was just too relaxed to feel anything but happy and satisfied. Jane stayed and they talked. Not about what she had Ken just done, but about the mansion and how they were settling in. About Sally, Eric and the. Fortunately, Elaine and her family were staying home for the holidays. They had a chicken farm to run. Chickens can’t feed themselves. Elaine’s parents said I could stay with them for the holidays. They had offered the use of their basement area which was furnished like a small apartment. In return I would help out taking care of the chickens. I had done that before and it was not hard work. The worst part of the job was shoveling all the chicken shit. It smelled awful. I wore a surgical mask. Behind, it towed a trailer upon which was mounted a short barreled howitzer. Behind that was another carrying ammunition and, behind that again, one carrying a cluster of dusty fighters. In the truck, itself, the unlucky soldiers were forced to ride inside with only the open hatches providing ventilation. Those, like Hap, considered themselves fortunate to find perches on the roof.An enormous red dust cloud hung over the army. It blew east in a stream from the hundreds of wheels and horse's.