"Ann told her, "Well, I am glad that there is no issue with the kids or the house. I know accidents happen, so don't worry, we will be home in a few ...inutes."Ann took a deep breath of relief and told me that eveything seems to be OK. "The only problem now is that your big night has been wrecked." Well, things like this happen, I will be fine." I told her.A minute later Ann looked at me with a sly smile. I said, "What is that look about?"She kind of bit her lower lip and said, "I have an idea. But even if I took your money right now I wouldn’t be able to clean things up in time for you to have a good time. With me so far?’ More grumbling. ‘So have I got a deal for you,’ snickering women. ‘I’ll let you stay for free,’ gasps of happy women. ‘IF!’ silence, ‘You give me a hand picking up enough to make it decent for us to stay in.’ The grumbling is back again. ‘Here’s the deal. You were going to fork over a hundred bucks to stay here. You give me ten hours of your time, EACH, in exchange. Over the next hour, I visited the pudding section, and the toiletry area, each half a dozen times. I checked the lines at the registers each time by. I called out at both restrooms. I went through the checkout line once, and carried a bag out to the truck. I'd made the trip out to the truck once before, and twice after my purchase."Where the Hell have you been for the last hour? Why is your ass never where you say it's going to be?" I'd had time to get thoroughly pissed. Same old arguement.. I don't care if you live here, but it's Belinda," she said, glancing at the Frost Queen."We voted to keep the boss happy," the first one grabbed her friend by the arm and turned to walk away."Yah, she's a bitch when she gets pissed," her companion said over her shoulder.Great! Peer pressure once again trumps judgement.I pulled out my pack of cigarettes and fumbled with my lighter while I walked over to the fireplace, took a seat on the hearth and lit up. No point in pissing folks off with.