I was an outcast because I simply didn't fit in with the other children. Most of them came from poor or working-class families. I couldn't relate to t...em, nor they to me. In order to avoid playground fights, I learned to avoid the tougher boys. In spite of the fact that I was reasonably proficient in sports, I was widely regarded as a sissy.Rudine had a different problem. In spite of her name, she was not Jewish. She was a Seventh Day Adventist. Her parents were very strict, and she wasn't. I thought for a few moments as I was cruising Topeka Boulevard in my Jeep. I thought maybe I shouldn’t answer. I thought maybe I should. I opened the phone and I replied ‘Topeka.’ ‘I thought you were going to be home tonight.’ I worked nights, and she knew my schedule. She also knew that on beautiful summer nights I enjoyed the solace of my pool. A pool that at the end of June was normally heated to a nice 85 to 86 degrees. ‘I’m on my way home, what’s up?’ ‘I’m at your house, I want to swim. I. “Fuck right off,” Lara said as he hovered beside her. She spied Megan watching intently from behind the counter, poised to either cut Scott’s throat with a bread knife or to deliver iced tea.“Lara,” he said, “You’re fit to be tied and you have every right. So I’ll just say sorry and get outta your hair.”Lara shot him a withering look. “You couldn’t just send me a text? Oh, that’s right. Apparently, you forgot how.”“It’s not right to say sorry in a text. Has to be in person.”“Riiight. But it is. Fortunately, he was asleep when we got up, so he didn't see that she was naked. We got dressed and went to breakfast together, just like old times, almost.I kidded her about not being able to sleep with our roommates going at it in the next room. She blushed, and then became serious; telling me that she'd judged me harshly."I shouldn't have blamed you and Maxine for having sex without me. It was selfish of me to expect you guys to go without just because I was hurting."She was watching me.