As he approached her table he noticed that there were six people standing behind the table watching what was happening. He heard two of the people sta...ding there talking and one made the comment, “That lady is hot both in how she looks and how she plays cards.”Walking up to stand behind her he placed his hand on her side giving it a little rub and bent to her saying, “How are you doing.” He could see that there were a good number of multi-colored chips in front of her on the table.“Not too bad.. I think Shannon crested six times but they came so fast it was hard to count. They rolled apart to their backs side by side on the floor panting feverishly. Lium flopped his head toward me and smiled tiredly. I left my hiding spot before my friend saw me. After Shannon got her clothes on again she found me in my room. She stayed another hour and never said a word about screwing my brother nor did she seem embarrassed or concerned at what they had done. After she left I went to Lium. We. To agree to stand before this group of pre-service counselors and recount what life as an abused wife is really like. Her audience was filled with social workers, Ph.D. program candidates. They had already spent an hour going through the process, how abuse starts, how it builds. She had walked them through the first years of her marriage. The small fights, the first slap, the tearful apologies and heartfelt promises that it wouldn't happen again. Flowers and jewelry, and simple-sounding. Here, let me take your coats." I'll get them, Mom," said Jeff, friendly and cheerful, too cheerful."It's lovely to see you again Joanne, Eh-Ben-E-Zer."He broke up the syllables differently from the way it should be pronounced so he could emphasize the "Ben." Jeff wanted to remove all doubt as to how Dad had gotten his new name.That was not just my conclusion. Serious surprise registered on the faces of every member of his family. It sounded mean-spirited to them, a side of Jeff they had never.