By her own reckoning, she had now been struggling for at least eighthours, and her car was still miles away. This was not going to be an easy task,but...now, with darkness moving in, was going to be much harder. Totally drained from her efforts, Alice wasnow having problems staying awake, the darkness closing in even faster on themoors, no street lights to help her. Her last sight before her eyes closed,were the magnificent view of the night stars. Alice had no idea how long she slept. Itwas. He didn't know if the kids had come home yet.“I’m... I’m here Stan.” Emily was seated against the hallway wall, her legs pulled up to her chest. Her face looked up at him with red teary eyes.“Em... I…” Stan didn't know what to say. He knew she had heard everything. And by the looks of it, she was waiting for him to get out. The walls of their home were not so well insulated to muffle even their quiet infrequent love-making. Stan had flashes of the animalistic roars he had let loose and the. Used to play a game. The other girls wouldgather round, and you would guess how many children we would have, andhow many new cars, and how many pets. One day, someone asked how manylovers we would have. I guessed four. It seemed like a small enoughenough number to still be a good girl, but big enough so I wouldn't benaive.Now, I was 29 years old, and I was still at two lovers. Charles andTrent, a boy in college."I think we need this," Charles said. "I think it will be good for bothof us."I. "Never." Thank you sergeant," the older man said, standing and brushing his sleeves. "Perhaps we shall meet again." He left the room."Rider," the young ensign yelled. A door opened behind me. "Bring a bucket of water and send for Corporal Thomas," the boy said, smiling at me. "Now, we'll find the truth."The game worked this way. I knelt, my hands still tied behind me, and the two Redcoats dunked my head in a big bucket of water and held me under until I stopped making bubbles, sometimes banging.