“How does penne pasta with arrabbiata sauce and a salad grab you?”“That sounds good! I could invite Mindy and Maggie?”“It’s up to you,” ... replied flatly. “I have enough ingredients and there’s plenty of penne in the cabinet.”“Is something bugging you?”“Not bugging me, per se, just making me think. I had a long talk with Tasha and the last thing she said was very, very interesting. She said she’s not sure about the future because the world is not what she thought it was. And I think there’s a. Donald Burns was my gym teacher in jr high school. He made my life aliving hell. Dodge ball, rope climbing, and humiliating me in front of mypeers, he used to call me the hairless phantom because I didn't start tomature till I was 16. Even turning his head when the bigger guys attackedme with wet towels. Now he was going to get his.I knew every Saturday morning he would be out in the park jogging. Iplaced a trip wire on the path and waited. Burns fell right on his face.I came out of my hiding. “Hi Dana, what can I do for you?”“I don’t know what plans you have for Christmas Day but if you are in the area I would like to invite you to have dinner with me and my husband along with my brother and his family at my house.”“I don’t have any plans for that day and I appreciate the invitation. What time is dinner?”“Two o’clock and you don’t need to bring anything.”When the call ended Scott thought it was nice of Dana to invite him to dinner. Not only was she a very attractive woman she was. Damn, she felt needful. "How much time do we have left?" Another hour," Allison said.Café Joe's was attached to a small strip of stores that included a sandwich shop, a convenient store, a used book store and a couple small boutiques. They wandered through the stores to pass the time. Bethany thought waiting would dull the needful ache she felt in the pit of her stomach. Instead, her need grew. "How did you ever go back to work feeling like this?" she asked."Cool, isn't it?" More like torture.".