Matt was my best friend through school and when we left and got jobs, we both worked in the same department for the same employer. It was only natura... that we would become flat mates.Our friendship was forged due to a number of factors, the most important ones being that we were both underdeveloped as boys and supported each other through school and all of the associated bullying. The one thing that bullies do not like is when more than one person stands up to them and although we still got. She smiled at Dennis and said something completely unintelligible to him. It could have been a benediction or some last-minute instructions. He nodded and thanked her.When other people drank, Dennis did as well. The tea didn’t taste as vile as it smelled, but it still hit his palate like a combination of dark chocolate and battery acid. When everybody else had drunk, the priest, the attendants, and the two drummers drank in round-robin fashion so that the drumming and the chanting continued. It was empty, as we had hoped, and we pulled side by side into the lot.I got out of my car and with a quick look around went to the passenger side of Karen's van and got in. He smiled at me and we moved to the back of the van where there was more room. Karen had removed the last row of seats and had spread a cushy blanket back there. We both sat down across from each other, our backs to the sides of the van.I commented on how nice the van was. It had those mood lighting strips that ran across. It was about 9:30 when we got the call. She had GPS on her phone and we put the light on for her. We met her at her car when she pulled in the driveway. She looked pretty worn and I immediately grabbed her suitcase from her car and Gail Marie offered her dinner and anything else. She asked for a drink of water and something small to eat. We gave her some time to decompress at the dinner table alone. She started to look a bit rested and she joined us in the living room. ‘I’d like to thank you.