”Erik asked, “How so?”“He’s smart. I mean, I didn’t think commandos were dumb or anything, but he’s really smart and thoughtful. He list...ns… I mean, he really, really pays attention. And he’s respectful.”“Should I be jealous?”“Ha! No, he doesn’t ‘push’ the same kind of ‘buttons’ for me that you do. Besides, he’s married, and he seems like the kind of guy who takes that pretty seriously. Unlike someone else I know who loves to share me around.”He laughed, “The problem is, you like it, don’t. "Make learning Arabic your boot camp to train for the war, son."David sat stunned. He wanted to refute her logic. But couldn't. He wanted to just say no. But couldn't. He loved his mother, as a mother and as a lover, and thinking back, she'd never pointed him in a wrong direction."What about our effort to help the downtrodden?" David said.She sat in the chair next to him and said, "That's an avocation, not a vocation, and don't try to tell me day trading is your vocation. Fifteen minutes a day,. Linda was both embarrassed and excited at the prospect. Martin was still having difficulty coping with other men fucking his wife and hated knowing it was about to happen again.They were called into the conference room at the end of the weekly Executive Committee meeting. They stood nervously facing the eight men and one woman sitting around the large conference table. Martin stood close to Linda and held Linda's hand, trying to encourage her to be brave in this humiliating situation.Mr. Dad had taken every last penny I owned so he could nip to the Spotted Dog and get drunk… Again. I started hiding my money after that. Can you imagine that? Having to hide your money from your own father so you knew you’d be able to eat for the week. Something had to give, and sadly it was my schoolwork. My grades suffered and I simply couldn’t afford to stay in school, so I asked at the cafe if I could work full time. I took myself to bed and cried my eyes out. The door had just been slammed in.