Or how much she wanted to be breathing in a familiar scent of mingled leather and bay rum soap instead of Roger’s flowery cologne. Far from insensib...e to the compliment that was being paid to her, Sophie had sipped tea and grown more sad with every timid word. After Stephens had bowed a confused Roger from the room, Sophie had sat alone in the darkening parlour. When night began to draw in, one of the braver maids tried to creep in to lay a fire in the cold hearth, only to be ordered sharply. .. ? No thank you!" I told you there were other couples. I'm sure you'd find somebody you'd like... if you tried it!" Try it; you'll like it!" he parodied comically."... Or, we could join one of those swinging clubs..." Again, no thank you, darling..." he told her with finality.Getting up, he took the sheaf of photographs from his wife's lap and went back into his study. He was irked by Evelyn's insistence that they start a swinging life together. Most men, he realized, would have jumped at the. She definitely felt warm against his body. He would definitely have to take her to the doctor tomorrow. His thoughts are interrupted by a ping from the computer and he quickly leans over Erica to mute the volume. In the chat they were all telling him it was his turn to submit. With one hand he responded that his step daughter was sick and he was taking care of her. The response was to send a picture of her. He knew he should just log out, and he almost did, but it had been days and her. Those two facts had been a source of some family consternation. If Kate's mother, Rose, hadn't taken a liking to me for some reason, I never would have been able to take the shit that old Joe and his son, Tim, piled on me.I was a mason, a man that worked with brick, mortar, blocks, and concrete. My dad had been one before me and I never really wanted to do anything else. Dad insisted I go to school to learn the trade. I had resisted because my father could lay block all the way across the state.