“I love you, Chris. And I can’t imagine life without you. But please know that I’ll never leave Dave for you. I promised him that and I mean to ...eep that promise.”Again, another pause before she continued. A smart and confident woman, knowing that what she was saying shouldn’t be hurried. “I love Dave and I love you. But he’s my husband and the father of our children, and however much I love you and couldn’t bear being apart from you, I’ll never leave Dave. Please tell me that you understand. "We'll start with twelve. I just hope you learn your lesson, young lady."It sent a shiver through my body, hearing him talk to me like that, like I was a little girl. I silently hoped Mum didn't come home and see me like this. In a perverse way, I wished she didn't come home tonight at all, that Paul and Tommy would continue to humilaite and punish me. What was I thinking?Tommy started spanking me, and it was harder than I expected, and made me cry out. He ignored my protests and carried on,. Boys that age experienced that condition frequently. She just hadn't thought of her son as being that kind of "normal" before this. It didn't unnerve her. But it did bring her thoughts back to Bob."Me too," she said, as her son pulled his loins away from her. "Are you going to ask her out again?" I want to," he said."It's okay with me if you do," she said."Will you go with us next time?" he asked."Of course," she said."You don't have to," he suggested."Nice try, Bucko," she said, squeezing him. The boards creaked underneath her with each step she made. Then she stopped. I thought I heard a little laugh, but I couldn't tell over the sound of my own steps. Now I could see through to the other side, though I could barely make out the charcoal gray color of her shirt. I caught the curve of her breast as she turned to her side. She held a book up to the light so she could more easily read the fading title, barely visible on the spine. Her arm lifted up elegantly; in this light her olive.