" I have to call collect," she replied. "They're mean, not stupid." Hello, mother. Merry Christmas." Tabitha? We were worried about you." That's nice.... Are you sure you know what you are doing?" I'm perfectly sure, mother. You should have worried on Thanksgiving. Did you know what you were doing then? It wasn't hard to figure out." Forget that. We just wanted to know that you were safe. And merry Christmas to you. Did you get the package?" Two packages." Well, one is from Dobie. I just did the. She hugged her knees tightly, curling up defensively at my feet. I couldn’t stand there and watch it any longer. “Look, I don’t care. Fine. Say nothing. I don’t care. I’ve got nothing for you, okay? Just stop following me. I’ve nothing for you! Find someone else to rob, okay?” She didn’t react. She didn’t even seem to register that I’d spoken. I backed slowly from the room, pressing the knife back into its sheath as I slipped out of the back door and stepped into the blazing light of day once. The place smelled of bleach and Pine-Sol, not harsh, but intentionally clean.As I stood there pretending I knew what was going on, one of the men who had been browsing went to the counter, handed over a bill and received a handful of change in return. The man tucked the change in his pocket and walked down the long hall, looking at pictures that were hung on the fronts of each of the numbered stalls. He selected a door and with a quick glance over his shoulder in my direction, shut and locked. He saw me out of the corner of his eye and looked away embarrassed that I saw him checking out my wife. Liz gave Spencer a $50 bill and told him to keep the change. She also told him she had another tip for him tonight, and dropped her robe. Liz stood there totally naked. She asked Spencer if he liked what he saw. All he could do is stare and nod yes. Liz asked him if he wanted to swing buy after work for some fun. Obviously he said yes. Spenser informed us that he got off at midnight. Liz gave.