In here... naked... strapped to this God-awful machine... in front of my husband... and who knows how many other people.”She shouldn’t have said t...at– even silently to herself– because as soon as she said it, she began imagining dozens of people sitting behind the mirrored glass windows watching her writhe in her restraints. She had no idea who they really were, but she could clearly see faces in her mind. They were her friends... her teachers from high school... her ex-boyfriends... the girls. Why don't you go find one you thinkwill fit you so you can try it on?" My heart sank. He was going to think Ilooked disgusting in it, but I did as he said. He'd already gotten me a roomto try the clothes on in. I don't know how he got the clerk to let him in thedressing room ... it amazes me how most people don't seem to realize we'rerelated. I guess we don't look a ton alike and it's easier to believe the resemblanceis just a coincidence rather than think there's a father brazenly paradinghis. I would have loved one of the machines there, but I knew that the purchase price was just the beginning ... that there would be maintenance, not a problem, but also obtaining spares. Perhaps I'd do better with a more modern machine?They weren't cheap, either, and the sophisticated frames and suspension were odd to my eyes. Quite apart from that, I knew that the highest casualty rates among bikers were not, as you might think, from the impetuous young, but men like myself – returning to two. But then, alcohol had little effect on someone of his stature. And this clan holding did not have enough liquor in its storage cellars to get someone like him drunk. He didn’t even really want to get drunk, he just thought it might be a convenient way to rid himself of the painful pressure within his chest. Standing up, he strode from the shadows of the main building and tried to join in the excited crowd surrounding the large bonfire. Someone jostled him from his right side and the drink in.