”Just like that, she turned and left. I was confused. I was sure by the interaction I would be invited inside, perhaps on a trial basis, but still a...lowed inside. I stood naked, exposed, confused, and uncertain outside the gate. I glanced back in the direction of the village. I saw a small gathering of people in roadway passing through the village. My ancestry was a mix of nationalities, common for Brazilians, with European, Spanish, Portuguese, and Indian mixed over the generations. Compared. Despite my issues, I have always been a hard-working woman. I obtained my high school equivalent and started college at twenty-nine. I majored in sociology with a minor in psychology while running rough-shod over three children, two cats, a dog, and my useless 2nd husband, and managed to graduate summa-cum-laude with my bachelor's at thirty-six. I have obviously left out a few hundred pages worth of details, and could have simply said, "I'm a sex addict on my third husband and bat-shit crazy!". “Well, when she gets home from that then,” he said. “She’s gonna get both barrels from me.”“Wow, I just hope this isn’t gonna backfire on us. Zoey is a very strong-willed woman. I just don’t know, Grant, really,” she said.Tina had visited me a lot in recent memory. And with her coming to me first, to announce the existence of a boyfriend, made me feel good. Zoe on the other hand hardly made contact with me at all which made me feel bad. I had for some time accepted the truth that she had. ..??None taken,? I say with a smile. ?I think I know what you mean. It?snot ?Ian? or ?Kayleigh-Ann? you?ve missed, it?s just, you know, me? Ordoes that make me sound a bit egotistical???Just a little,? Maisie teases, sticking her tongue out at me. ?Thoughwith you gone, I did take your ?spot?...??Maisie is COOL,? Brooke says, making the other girl blush.?SUPER cool!? Georgie giggles as she returns from the kitchen with atray of soft drinks. ?Like, OMG, Kay- Kay-??Ian,? I say, trying to stifle a.