"Okay," he agreed with a small shrug."Thank you," I let out a big sigh of relief. The conversation wasn't as hard or as difficult as I envisioned it w...uld be.It was a half day for the students on this rainy Friday, May 18th. After school was out, the teachers were crammed into the faculty lounge with Principal Simmons and Vice Principal Hughes."This is my annual plea for volunteers to teach summer school," Simmons said."Are they paying more this year?" Mr. Bell asked."In this district?" someone. She found the door to Cole’s room open and entered. The man was nowhere to be seen and neither was his ‘servant’. Abigail’s lip curled as she remembered the woman. A slave from the Ottoman Empire, without a doubt, and Cole permitted her to cover herself in their fashion. Abigail had disliked her from the start, though the woman was at pains to keep her distance from Abigail. She saw the open doorway leading to the closet and walked in. ‘Cole?’ she called. But the room was empty. She turned to. She took out the Puerto Rican Vanilla-spiced rum and a bottle of Crown and set them on the coffee table in the living room, along with four shot glasses. “Who wants to play quarters?” Dannye asked, as Karyn exited the bathroom and took up a seat, sitting cross-legged on the couch, the skirt of her spirit dress gently draping across her well tanned and bare thighs. “I'm all in,” Karyn replied. So was Paul. What the heck- so was I. I was good at this game, real good. Paul bounced a quarter off. Does that bother you, Baby?” Dan didn’t answer. They drank champagne and watched the fire without speaking for a while. “I love you Baby, I really do love you; you are a very good lover.” “Thank you; you’re not the only lady to tell me I’m a skilled lover. Do you know that?” “Which of your other partners has praised your skills?” “My older friend has several times; once she toasted my ability to her friend and Artsy.” “The more I meet her, and everything you tell me about her, I appreciate her.