The parents will be here in an hour. Mom and I are going shopping, which means you'll be stuck with Dad. Later this afternoon, we'll need to get all g...ssied up for dates neither of us want, attend a dinner we'd both like to avoid, and then we must be sociable and witty at the gallery. God, what a chore! If I were you I'd be pissed, too."She dropped down to her knees in front of him and pushed his knees apart. "With all you have to put up with today, you deserve a reward." She reached and pulled. " Shit, Gummer, I ain't scared of you," the woman holding Dawn's arm snarled."Well that's good Delany, 'cause I sure as hell ain't scared of you, or your pal over there or a dozen more like you. You're free to hit on all the regulars you want, but when someone backs off, you let them back off. Now go sit down and have a beer. Sammie will be in later and you know she loves those games you play."The butch woman wavered. "What business is this of yours anyway? You don't work here." A friend saw. After all we've been through, she still averted her eyes when she spoke to me. She was absolutely, painfully adorable and I knew there was no way I could possibly let go. Composing herself, rearranging her disheveled clothes and hair, I finally released the stuck elevator. People were starting to get annoyed, pounding on the doors, asking questions that were getting a little too hard to ignore. When we reached the bottom floor, I held the door open as she got out, still trying to ignore the. Then, the very next instant, I find myself looking for food in the alley with all the other rats.I never really thought about rats when I was concentrating on boozing it up and shagging pretty girls in doorways. I'm sure the rats were always there but they kind of stayed out of sight because they all knew us humans were not fans and, in fact, were their mortal enemies.It was the mirror on the dresser in the abandoned crack house that confirmed my new persona left a lot to be desired. The only.