”Holly glanced up at him, her pink eyes flashing mischievously, then she turned her gaze to BJ. They both had large piles of condiments, but it look...d like Holly was edging ahead with that last hand. She had picked up the game remarkably quickly, and she was surprisingly good at it. She had been designed from the chromosome up to be good at diplomacy, and what was Poker if not diplomacy boiled down to its most basic form? The ability to persuade, to mislead, knowing when to play your cards and. Maybe she just forgot."So I found myself rapping on the door of Apartment 1B. Gillian opened the door, and I knew right away that she didn't forget -- she looked like she was going to the gallows. "Gillian, uh..." I muttered."Doctor Volkmann shut down his practice two weeks ago," Gillian said mournfully. "I'm looking, but..." Didn't he give you a package?" I asked.She shook her head. "Well, he did, but I had to borrow money for Robbie's medical bills..." Her kid was sickly -- a regular hospital. Take me home. What’s going on back there?” Frustrated, David hit the starter, slammed it into gear and d? vu. Those dammed bumps and bruises that were about healed got another go round. We sped up this rocky trail at a speed that can only be attained by a pissed off teen; Melody and I bouncing off the roof and each other again.Two more weeks and not a place that we could sneak off to. Melody’s dad was in the Army and suddenly they were moving to California. Getting fucked and not getting. She was my necessary other half.By the time we reached our eighteenth anniversary I had finally made my way into a corner office. That was not as much fun as it might sound, since a lot of responsibility came with having walls and a door.Part of what I did was manage the equipment and services for our division and that was why I was sitting at my desk when my old nemesis William Wirt strode in to shake my hand. I hadn’t seen him since that fateful night on the porch in Ann Arbor. But I.