I’d retained much of that peripheral awareness ever since. And I’d spotted a silhouette of a guy in a cowboy hat. Three different times. Three dif...erent locations in the city, although he was two or three car lengths behind me each time.This evening I was driving home from the stockyards, it was around 9:30. Well, 9:37. I’m not certain I like the anal precision of the digital world we live in.Naturally I jumped to the conclusion, zero evidence, that it was Melvin ‘Dixie’ Wexler. His rodeo. The announcer starts to say, "Her opponent, Elizabeth!"The crowd gives Liz an ovation as you hear whistles and cheers almost to blow the roof off the Smash club for Elizabeth.The announcer says, "Everyone remembers Elizabeth from last month’s pie fight match, right?"Announcer two says, "Well there's a table of pies lined up again for usage in this match too."Lined up on the table from last week are lemon meringue, key lime and sour cream pies. They are thick creamy and messy fun. Elizabeth. It’s not that I don’t try, but I just can’t do it, and I was going to get another F on my second try at elementary calculus. I wouldn’t have been able to continue on, and my career, my whole life, would have been ruined. My father would have killed me. You know what I’m talking about, but what other choice did I have? I was going to offer sex to my professor for a passing grade. It’s not like I was going to give anything away that I couldn’t keep—I mean my pussy wasn’t going to wear out or. “Well, she’s in good hands now. Take care of her. I’ll be going.”I stood up as well.“She’s not the only one in pain.”He didn’t say anything, just stood there with his hands in his pockets.“Just because I didn’t get drunk and throw myself at strange men doesn’t mean I’m not hurting.”I unbuttoned my blouse to show him my bra and leaned forward ever so slightly.“Don’t, Johanna,” he said.“I’ve always been the second sister. The flat-chested one. The less attractive one.”“It’s not a competition,.