.. I was kind of violent, I guess. I'm sorry!" Yeah, you were." But then she smiled and said, "But it was OK." But then I just got lucky that you didn...t mind, right? God, we men are rapists, just like they always said!" Well, it wasn't rape, really. I wanted it, just not plastered nearly upside down against the bars." God, I'm so sorry." It was fine, as it turned out. Quite a memory! But I think I'd rather do it from the rear on the floor from now on. That's awfully nice." Of course! Whatever. She was around 37 years old but her vitals were so good that it was hard to believe her age. They had moved to Bangalore two years ago. Her husband was a marketing manager. They had just one kid.She caught my attention for a long time. I never missed a chance to ogle at her. It was on a weekend, I was standing outside my apartment to catch a glimpse of my dream aunt. Then after 15 minutes. She came out wearing nightdress. She called my name and I was confused. I thought she is going to scold me. She smiled and said, "You are one of the few who recognized its hidden secret." I looked at her quizzically and she said, "I was the model for this painting...one of my husband's friends was an artist, and did this as a gift for my husband. I insisted he change the facial features and a couple of other things." Needless to say, I was stunned, but managed to get a quick, "It's very flattering" out.I set the painting down against the arm of the futon, and Thea said in a quiet tone, "Would you. ThenI turned to Ms. Herndon. If she recognized me, she didn't show it. I'ddelivered pizzas to her house on more than one occasion, and in mybaseball cap and work pants she would never bother making eye contactwith me, let alone speak to me. But today, instead of handing me a checkand a single dollar tip before slamming the door in my face, she smiledkindly, handed me a long-stemmed rose and, like Lisa, kissed my cheek.Then she held me close and whispered something in my ear."What?" I asked. .