" When is he coming to see the girls again?" He said he would be back in two weeks on a Saturday to take the kids out. He intimated there might be a w...man with him. I will be talking to my mother-in-law before then and I'll know more about what Ronnie does and how he lives. She has always liked me and she loves her grandkids."We sat on the couch and Shelly was staring into space, while I watched the show, 60 minutes. "You know I was so excited about seeing him again. I am not now. I'm just. There is the northern pasture." I can be romantic right here." Indeed, to his thinking, the bed was better than a picnic blanket. They'd done enough of that when Manny was young. That last couple of years with Manny off at school had spoiled him.She lay down while he removed her panties. "You know," he said, "she's not likely to come knocking on the door at the critical moment, any more. She has Ed to talk to." And, being a married woman, she knows precisely what the squeaking bed springs. We sunned ourselves in the afternoon light. ‘I like this,’ Stephanie said. She rubbed the inside of my leg. ‘It’s a beautiful day,’ I said. ‘No – I mean, yes, it’s a beautiful day. That’s not what I mean, though. I mean I like this,’ she kissed the back of my hand. ‘I like this new – phase? Of our marriage? The way we’ve been the last few weeks?’ She released my hand and placed it over her breast. I imagined I could feel the flutter of her heart. ‘I like it, too, Steph. I think you’ve felt. ..like the carcasses of decomposing rats....and agreed without any demur.“At least it’ll keep you out of my hair for a few days,” was all that she said. “And farm people are conservative. They won’t let you get any ideas in your head.”Later, as soon as we were outside and out of sight of my mother, Dina began laughing so hard she literally leaned against a lamp post, and then slid down it until she was sitting on the pavement. “Conservative,” she gasped and spluttered. “Oh my.”“What on earth.