She will receive a check from you by close of business today. And then, you will pay me $10,000 more for the trouble of cleaning up this mess. You wil... have until close of business tomorrow to put that check in the mail to me.”“Who are you?”“My name is Jake Fielding. I’ll leave you my address. Now where do I find Steven Cockrell?”“Cockrell Builders. I don’t really know where. They’re local. They’ll be in the phone book.”“See that the charges against Mrs. DeRizzo get dropped. Today is not too. Don't worry, I'm sure that you will catch up with the other girls. I think that you are old enough to wear some really pretty things. Would you like that, Jennie'This was too much for me. My eyes brimmed with tears and before I knew it I was huddled on the bed, crouching in almost a fetal position, with tears streaming down my face.I sensed Marie coming to sit beside me, feeling the edge of the bed give way as she sat. Her arm was around me and her breath was on the side of my face as she tried. ” I hoped a feeble attempt at humor would bring him around. He smiled, “So weird, I was just across the hall and this little shrimp kept sayin' I was hittin' on his woman…” He stood up and his arms snaked around my back so fast I didn’t register it had happened. “I wouldn’t do that,” he whispered, his forehead pressed against mine. I closed my eyes—it was weird looking at someone so close. He must have just been chewing gum because I could smell the mint on his breath. I couldn’t stand it and. "Won'ttelevision give us better reception than a scratched, clouded andflattened Crystal Ball? (I am trying to get the Ball's goat. I knowit is still listening)."I'm afraid not. As you see, the television set is an antique, andthus is not hooked up for cable. I'm afraid we'll have to use therabbit ears as an antenna."I hear the crystal ball groan, but it remains dark, giving nothingaway.It's through the help of the many flickering "ghosts" on the 1950s'television screen that I can complete.