Some of the ladies even suggested that a shower may spoil the entertainment. It was now over a year since our first meeting, and I now felt, at last, ...hat the ice was broken. Smiling, I apologised for my dilemma, suggesting this was an unavoidable man thing, and should be ignored. Back in the yard, the conversation had receded into whispers, and laughter. Occasionally I sensed remarks on my manliness, my child-like hairless private parts, my overall athletic physique, etc. Making sure that I. Grounding from television, or the phone, or going out with friends were the most common. Despite the normal friction that inevitably forms between a teen and their parents, the three of them were very close. No matter how angry they made JJ, or how angry JJ made them, each day was ended with a hug, a kiss, and an 'I love you'. That made a difference in all their lives. It was also a testament to JJ's parenting skills, for being able to navigate the minefield of their evolving parent/child. I didn’t mean anyone to see.”Suddenly I was both puzzled and intrigued. “See what, girl? Who and what and when? And don’t lie to me.”Her eyes went to the floor and her voice became a whisper. “It was last Monday, Mistress. At work. I was trying to work but I couldn’t sit comfortably. You had flogged me the night before and I was still raw.”I smiled to myself. I remembered it well. She had burnt the main course and then served lumpy custard with an apple pie that was almost too tart to eat. It. Sadness at what had come to pass. Self-flagellation at having been so stupid as to have started this whole lifestyle in the first place. Paranoid, or maybe not so paranoid, wondering if this had all along been some semi-secret plan of Luther’s to heap burning coals on me until Jill was free to join with Luther’s good friend Malcolm.Wondering how I should move things forward with Veronica. Whether the official or unofficial grapevine had already alerted her to the fact that Jill and I would no.