Disappointed, I saddled up and left Lubbock continuing my ride east on 82. I cruised through some flat land and decided if I lived anywhere in Texas, ...t would be West Texas. I had passed through there a few years back at sunrise and you couldn't ask for a better sunrise.Crosbyton, Dickens, Guthrie -- all just slower spots on the road as I moved steadily to my meeting in Dallas. I started thinking again about this road trip. Reggie surprised me when I was told in no uncertain terms that she. Damn, I was going to miss her.I’d agreed to help her move and the day of loading the truck I was under her sink, removing the water filter she had installed. I did something wrong, no idea what, but in an hour or so, my left side began hurting something awful. Bruised or cracked rib from lying on the edge under the counter? I knew I wasn’t in the greatest shape at sixty-five anymore, but shit, I should be able to do that still. Fortunately, she’d hired movers to load the truck and the. As the woman got out of the tub and began to dry herself off, she thought about the office. She realized that all her characters had some basis in the office, from Buck to Maggie, from Lu to Bernice. Sure, Buck was none other than the mail boy-it was amazing she hadn't noticed before. She'd lusted after the young stud, especially when he'd bend over to pick up the envelopes off her office, his muscular buns bulging through his trousers. She knew he was the outdoor type--most unusual for her. Two minutes? Three? Then a voice. "Very good. You have much to learn, but we think you are ready. Know this, though; there is a sacrifice, as with all things worth having in this world. We offer you the path of the bowl, of the Ying, of growing and nurturing. For seven years, you have walked the way of the blade, the Yon, taking and using. You may continue to do so if you wish, but if you do, you will never have this chance again. Now. If you wish to join us, step into the light. Else, turn.