My companions were standing hand-in-hand in the doorway to the patio watching a pair of small fat birds forage in the ivy at the top of the patio wall...“Good morning, Sofía. Good morning, Javier.”At that moment there was a knock on the door.“Will you have breakfast this morning, don Miguel?”Suddenly I was starving even though I was exhausted.“Yes, Sra. Martínez. Thank you.”“And for Srta. Sofía and don Javier, too?”I looked back at my two friends and lovers. They looked at each other and back at. “You are so loaded with pure love and goodness, Hank Conroy, it ought to be illegal.” Then she shook her head again and added, “I’ve met three of your children, and they’re utterly perfect! And I know why, too. It’s because they’re raised in an environment of love spilling constantly all over everything. What a perfect mother!”“Perfect? Not hardly!” Hank retorted. “I can’t cook to save my life.”“Yes, I can see that,” Kim said. “It’s easy to see how undernourished your children are.”But Kim. “I’ve wanted to do that for three years now. You’ve no idea how many times I’ve fantasized about that,” I said. “What, you think I haven’t seen you stare at my ass all this time? Some days I walk by your desk, just because I know I’ll have your attention. Wait, you’ve been calling me the office mom for three years. Does that make this weird?” she asked. “Oh hell, I hadn’t even thought about that,” I said, laughing at my own joke. Fortunately, she laughed as well. Then she rolled off me,. I opened up about feeling lonely, even being scared sometimes. It felt good. The warm body next to me, talking to a living being about everything. Even if it was a dog.I awoke with a start. My body was stiff, I was shivering. Where was I? Then I looked around and remembered. Down in the kennels. Most of the dogs were curled up as well, I heard a faint snoring from one of them. Stiffly I got up, stretched my aching body. “See you later guys,” I murmured and left them.Back in my bungalow I.