The inside of the shop is a little dim after the brightness of the morning sun, and she gives her eyes a moment to adjust. Looking around, there are m...re drawings tacked to almost every flat surface, most of them just stuck in place with a thumbtack or a piece of scotch tape. One corner of the store is taken up by a big old barber chair, the kind that reclines and elevates so men can get a shave. There’s a counter with a blackboard behind it, listing numbers next to a list of prices. ‘Good. Or maybe it was just the heat outside that had made me feel a little light-headed.I stood for a few seconds, watching her as she watched me, before finally reaching out my hand and taking her water bottle. I filled it to the brim, and also filled a glass of water for myself, and we both took a long cold drink. There was an odd kind of tension in the air, and I needed to say something to try to break it.I smiled and joked, “You know, my husband thinks you were flirting with him yesterday!”Okay,. They knew I was a college student, so little was said to me about it.I still had a hole in my gut about Belle. I finished my golf lessons just as we broke up, so I didn't see her at all afterwards. I was regularly commuting to New Westminster now, so I wasn't hanging around home very much. Again, that limited whether I would see her or not. I had a number of sleepless nights as I thought about the consequences of not being with Belle, but I didn't see any easy way to resolve the problem until. “Joys of homeownership.” I turned and left.From over my shoulder, I heard Lavi yell, “Maybe they’ll kick us out and we can just use the hallway one until then.”I yelled back, “Don’t forget to turn the water back on under the toilet. I love you!”I heard grumbling but then she yelled “You better have boy sperm! I want sons to do this for me in the future!”I turned the corner into the hallway, “Boy sperm, I promise!” I made my way downstairs and found Melissa in the kitchen dressed in denim shorts.