" interrupted the shopkeeper with a special emphasis on the words that reminded Dwayne of the horses and Frau Bluecher. "That must be the ...ne. May I please see it." "Of course, sir." The shopkeeper walked over to the small cabinet, unlocked it, reached in, and took out the lamp. It was the lamp that he had seen last night. "TheLamp is generally kept, locked, in this cabinet at night, sir. It is never left unattended in the shop otherwise. That you saw . I ALWAYS want it! Now you know -- pinch my ass, and I'll roll over and spread my legs! In some ways, I'm sure it's a dream come true -- but you'll probably think less of me for it, and God knows I'm totally exposed, now that you know..." Totally exposed?" Lon was having trouble integrating this into his planned scenario. He was incredibly self-centered; seeing things from someone else's perspective was a stretch. Beth's little recitation was well outside his experience; he was looking at bits. "Hmmm ... married, that's what we did in the old days. None of this practicing." Her mother piped in under her breath, loud enough for Di and I to hear."Had I practiced before ... I might not have an ex, Mom. I might have learned things before they happened." She said quietly enough that Missy didn't pay attention.The waiter came back to collect our salad plates and the remains of the anti-pasta and left us a plate telling us, "You dinner will be out in just a few minutes, please enjoy this. Dinner went by smoothly with the constant buzz of clinking silverware and mingling chatter hovering about the room. I made my rounds saying hello to various co-workers as I secretly tried to find Josh. He was nowhere in site. It was doubly depressing when I thought about the extra time I’d spent trying to look good for the jerk. Save a dance for me, my ass. It was definitely time to get a drink or three. ***“Looking for me?” Jeremy came up behind me as I was sipping on my freshly made margarita.