I’m not as close to the new girls as was with the original three. But we all love each other to some degree. Our Christmas caroling came to an abrup... stop. The city decided they could do a much better job than we were. They refused us a parade permit. Now a small van drives around with recorded music, no one bothers to come outside to watch and listen. Politics. I still bought a load of hay to deliver to the widow. Laura and I were looking over the various adoption options one evening. Blair. ''Ich habe es nicht verstanden. Was m?chtest du?'Sie lie? es mich immer wieder sagen. Ich kam mir so unendlich erniedrigtvor, wie ich darum bettelte, Kleider anziehen zu d?rfen. Aber ich sahkeine andere Chance. Selbst weglaufen war in meinem Aufzug undenkbar.Und nat?rlich bekam ich meinen Wunsch erf?llt, ab da gab es nur nochKleider f?r mich. Genauso hat sie mich in vieles andere getrickst. Immerhabe ich darum gebeten. Mit das Schlimmste war, als sie mich dazugebracht hatte, sie um Hormone zu. " She fumbled in her purse for cigarettes, knocked one from the pack, and sat smoking in short, heavy puffs, her eyes studying Don Robinson. It was like going to sleep and picking up a fresh installment of an old nightmare.Gwen had been in her senior year at college-Reckardsville University, one of Ohio's mass-market institutions of higher learning-when she had first met Don Robinson. God, she thought, he had been so attractive then. President of his fraternity, tennis star, all-American rich. Aveva così cominciato, per sublimare il suo desiderio di campo e di spogliatoio, ad arbitrare le partite delle sue ex-compagne di squadra.Ogni tanto rimaneva oltre e faceva lo stesso per le squadre maschili.Ben presto la sua natura competitiva la aveva portata ad offrirsi come arbitro per qualunque tipo di evento sportivo amatoriale.Tornei di pallavolo, tennis, pig pong, le bocce del nonno..Si preparava a dovere, leggeva manuali, guardava le paritite in TV, nulla di complicato in fondo per una.