"Perhaps, but it is magical."George thought for a second, then dug out his wallet. "You do take plastic, don't you?" Seeing the old man's smile, Georg... handed him his credit card."And do be careful in how you word your wishes," the old man called as George left the shop. The old man shook his head. "He didn't listen. Well, he's in for a surprise or two," he muttered to himself, half smiling.George decided to stop at the local strip joint, the Gentleman's Grill. The name sounded sophisticated,. She saw that she wasn’t red anymore when she glanced in the mirror, though her eyes were actually sparkling and she had a stupid grin on her face that she couldn’t seem to get rid of. She washed her hands with icy water as if that would help. She had never felt this way around another woman before, so what the fuck?Someone knocked on the door and she decided she would have this meltdown somewhere else, if ever.Carmen was still engaged in an intense talk with someone when Emily rejoined the. She stood up, her bra clearly visible through the t-shirt now clinging to her. “You, you, you,” she sputtered.I solved her speaking problem by grabbing her and kissing her. She put her arms around me as I did the same for her and we stood, soaked and standing in three feet of water. We broke the kiss and looked at each other.“So,” she said, “I have to dry these clothes out now.”“I have a dryer.”“I haven’t seen the laundry room yet.”“We should take them off out here so we don’t track water in. Like most of the rest of the citizens of Lodi, Alex knew Cindy’s history, but they also knew that despite her celebrity, Cindy provided no new grist for the gossip mill. She appeared to be a dedicated mom and a hard worker who generously shared her talent with La Banda Sage and was exclusive with Matt.For a time, Cindy’s recording and video of Won’t You Love Me Again topped the country charts then had become a crossover hit. Alex had heard from her friend Krista Torres that Cindy had refused.