They seemed like a decent bunch, so the prospects for a little poker to pass the time looked good. One of them, short and bowlegged, wandered over."Ho...dy. Do I know you, stranger?" he asked, looking me over.He was smiling, so I offered my hand. "I doubt it. Just passing through on my way from California," I said. He looked at my gun belt and the "JPR" carved there. I headed off the next question. "Name's John, John Ringgold," I said."Don't know that handle. Ever spend any time in Texas?" he. He had no idea that not only had his wife been very unfaithful sexually, but that she'd actually started fucking his best friend, Tom, and that they'd been actually having sex even more frequently than he and his wife, Audrey, had been when he'd been at home. Audrey found a hot lusty sexiness and a mysteriousness about Tom that she didn't feel with her own husband. She knew that was probably normal for a woman having an illicit affair with some guy besides the man she was married to. Audrey. I could maneuver her a little better than Mike. Mike however was better, if I wanted to document an event. Also Mike had proved himself to be dependable in a dangerous situation. If I was going to bring in a runner, I wanted Mike behind us not Gwen. I did not want to worry about her safety. I know I wasn't supposed to think about the pros in my decision making, but a beat down of Gwen would do none of us any good.It was all a lot more complicated than any of us anticipated going in. With Jen. As the first rattan stroke lashed down, my memory of beatings past surfaced. I remembered distinctly how I’d grown to like the sting, which wasn’t what was meant to happen in a punishment. Yes, I liked the bite and the sting, and maybe the shame too! A second stroke broke my nostalgic reverie as it hit just below where the first had landed. Both marks throbbed and ached as my tormentor paced around the room, whipping the cane through the air. He cackled and admonished me, “I hope I’m getting.