"The time has come for a frank discussion of your situation. Wouldn't you agree?" In that case, the chair trick is a little old fashioned, don't you t...ink?" Linda shifted easily from her uncomfortable, off-balance posture in the chair. She leaned back slightly, and stretched her legs out in an almost indolent show of relaxation. In the symbolic battle of status, her move was risky but effective."Posture, girl. I know you were raised better than that, despite your recent history of disrespect. It consisted of severalrooms.The main room was dominated by a large, steel Saint Andrew's cross mountedon one wall. Another wall featured a metal grid with many attachmentpoints. Overhead was a hoist. Scattered about the room were bits offurniture, none of which looked comfortable. A padded horse. A strangelooking barrel with several holes in it. A Judas chair although thespikes were not included. Even a fancy casket lined with silf and proppedopen.A second room was called the medical. Indeed, he had not been especially unhappy in the time before Eve arrived. He had plenty to do in exploring the grottoes and woods and ponds and streams of the garden. There were so many interesting and beautiful things to see and he knew all of them by name. As well he might, as there were no names before he granted them to the world. There were some places he preferred over others. He enjoyed bathing in the still waters of the pond or lazing on the grass lawns that spread out in all. Congratulations!" She smiled and opened her arms to hug me.Hired? What the hell was this about?I didn't know what to say. I knew Karen could be pushy. In fact, I suspected that this apartment and the job, although a good thing for Gary, had been mostly proposed by Karen's over zealous attempts to rescue her son from self-destructive behavior. What better opportunity than to take advantage of a desperate situation to do it. Not that I blamed her. Had it been my kid, I suppose I might have done.