His plan had merit, though I had sense the possibility of failure. Mortals could always be surprising. I touched Darleen's belly absently, sliding acr...ss her silky skin.I walked into the Cowgirl Salon adjacent to the tattoo parlor, pushing through the swinging door into a packed room that reeked of intoxicants and lust. Men and women all stared at me first with shock, then desire, and finally worship. Such strong men, muscular arms bare, wild beards, scarred fists, and broken nose."Worship me!". . Blokes would take turns in there. Not even talking to me. I felt so popular ... I loved it. But they stopped having those kind of parties in the 80s when AIDS came up ... You can’t get AIDS from a dog, can you?”She lights up a cigarette for ‘desert’. “They say I can’t smoke on the bus ... But I always smoke in the bedroom!!”Another bus pulls out and they exchange BEEPs and waves.“I dunno what it is about dogs ... They’re just dirty. I hope he’s a big, hairy, smelly dog. Is it going to be a. I tried to bring it up to Terri later, and when I did I caught her giving me a look and smiling. Halloween was a few days later, and that afternoon we all got together at our apartment to get into their costumes. We were all drinking white zin and giggling. Jinky and Terri were going to dress as streetwalkers, And they asked me to do their make up. Somehow during the afternoon, Jinky jokingly put a wig on my shaved head. We all laughed then she put some lipstick on me. I protested weakly and. Her feet were put in some beaded slippers. Mary looked at herself in the mirror and saw a stranger looking back at herself. -.- The evening was spent with eating a meal and drinking lots of tea. The family talking together in Arabic and sometimes asking her questions using the Sheik to translate. How her parents were doing? Well they had died years ago. If she had brothers or sister? No. Children? No. In the end the women went all to bed and only Omar and Mary were left. She felt heavy of.