Hmm, was that a compliment? "TheMoores called me first thing Saturday morning. They were absolutelydelighted with the work you did for them. I've got ... list of jobs herefor you that will keep you busy all summer long!" Just a few minutes agoI was thinking of asking for a discount on the paint! And, here he washanding me a list of names that would keep me busy through Labor Day andbeyond.I took the list from him and gave him a warm hug. I told him that I'd beback that evening to purchase some. And she didn't come back to me. She never even thought about it, did she?"She wouldn't look at me."You can tell me, baby. I'm a big boy, and the truth ... the truth is always better. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. No matter how hard, it's better than lies."She finally looked into my eyes."She said, she said she never wanted to see you again - she wanted to make a new life away from you. She said you would never check up on her, you might never know, and she didn't want - didn't. Hesmoothes her right breast with the other leaf. Now bothbreasts flame pink. Her nipples are erect.Jeremy has her raise her body so he can slide the crossunderneath. He ties her wrists to the crossbar withsmooth rope. We don’t use nails. He slides the dowelsholding the foot platforms into the right position.Then we all work to raise the cross. Now she hangs,some of her weight on her arms, most on her feet whichshe must stretch to reach the supports. She is alreadycrying. We fix the cross. I started thinking maybe trading a blowjob or two for a break from doing the dishes and washing clothes wasn't a bad deal for any of us. Maybe I shouldn't have promised Mark and David that I'd never fool around with my brothers again, but I had and if I got caught breaking that promise it would probably be pretty bad. So I had to make sure I didn't get caught! I was laughing to myself, thinking those bad thoughts and writing about that stupid Picasso guy — I could paint better than him! — when.