" He looked away again."Thanks," I said. "Mom took me shopping last week. I mean, Saturdaybefore last. We finally talked Dad into letting me get s...me girlclothes." That's cool," he said, meeting my eyes again briefly. "What all, um,kinds of things did you get?" Well, Dad said no skirts or dresses yet, and Mom said no sleeveless orcold shoulder tops, but I got some casual pants and tops for school anda couple of pant suits like this for church. I hope Dad will relenton the dresses before. "Those signs are also done by the lock people. With luck I can have that done Monday morning too." We would appreciate that," I said warmly. "Laura is in need of a sense of home."Ramone's eyes discreetly scanned her abdomen. His already mild countenance softened even further. "Sure thing," he said again. "Let me help you get your stuff up to the apartment," and he grabbed the suitcase, Laura's pack and half our shopping bags like they were weightless and got them in the elevator. "If you could. With each passinghour, they relaxed a little more as nothing was said, and the noise levelbegan to rise as the tension eased."Five minutes to nine," Jeff said, and the noise level dropped again."They'll do a recap of all the major stories at nine."Tina could only stare at the clock on the cable box as time crept from8:55 toward 9:00, the turning of each digit stepping up the tension inthe room. At 8:58, Alyssa slid into the space next to Tina on the couch.At 8:59, she took her hand, while. She almost laughed as she gazed down at his face, his eyes still squeezed tightly shut, his face scrunched up in anticipation of a great amount of pain. It was as if he was a small child, getting a shot in the arm at the doctor’s office.“Open your eyes; the worst is over and I want to see into your soul as I fuck you. The others were crying by now. All except Roger that is, but then I’m sure he was used to it by then. There were pictures of him and his partner, a big black stud, all over his.