It was so heavy it actually fell on the bed with a plop. I sat bolt upright, dragging my new friend up with me.Staring at Sammi with big round frighte...ed eyes, I tried to say, “ Wha the uck! Ere is umtine wong ith mi tongue!”Sammi looked and me and giggled, “It looks perfectly fine to me darling.”She used her hands to gently push me back between her legs as she said, “I think you should put that bad boy to some good use. Come on, honey, you did say you wanted to get deeper in my honey box,. I know that now.” “Did I or did I not take care of you? Food? Clothing? Shelter?”“Yeah for ass.”“That’s all marriage is,” he rationalized. “You weren’t turning down the gifts.”“No, but…”“Then Dawn got locked up. She signed you over to me cause yo’ no-good daddy was in the pen too.”“Yeah! It was just us,” Margaux recalled.“Yeah! It was perfect! You were what 14 or 15 then.”“f******n.”“That’s right! We got the new place. Everybody knew you was my bitch too!”“Nobody said a word.”“It was the hood. " I will. Bye love," said Paula."Lots of hugs and kisses. Bye," said Kelly.Miriam returned minutes later, as promised, with a plate of toast."Been talking to Paula?" she asked."Yes, how do you know?" asked Kelly."I heard you talking to someone. I'm just guessing it was Paula," saidMiriam."You're right. I just asked her about coming into town with me nextweek. She's going to ask her parents first." You can stay up here for the rest of the night. Your dad is stillbeing silent. I just wish he. She hugged me, cuddled with me. I really miss that. I only realise now after she’s gone, how much I miss that.” Ava is looking even sadder now. Are her eyes tearing up? “Oh honey, I totally get that. You’ve touched on this subject already before. Am I still not doing it right, I mean bonding with you, giving you warmth?” “You’re taking great care of me, dad. Feeding me, washing me, shaving me. I really appreciate it. But it feels sterile. It often feels like I’m a patient.”I can’t help but feel.