“And do you know what you did, Lucinda? You picked up that tea and you DRANK it! Without even looking to see who I was. Like I knew you wouldn’t. ...nd if I’d just said nothing and walked away, you’d never have known it was me.” I gave that a second to sink in, and when she was still shocked, I took something out of my pocket.“Oh, this isn’t ‘the antidote’ or anything, don’t worry. I wouldn’t do something like that, Lucinda. There’s nothing in there but your Oolong with no cream or sugar. Just. It's Richard and he says,"Sorry but I need you to sign for your meal, Miss." Heart pounding,knickers tightening, head light, you're struggling to think. Beyond thecontrol of your mind something else takes over, moving your hand with longpainted nails toward the handle and you find yourself opening the doorslowly. One hand rests on the frame and one on your hip, draped in satin andlace, saying in your softest voice, "Well you'd best come in then." ... Thepreviously confident flirtatious boy. She cried again when we insisted that she get a SUV for her company car.After we acquired the paving company it was at least two months before we could all get home at a decent time in the evening. Usually I would be the last one in and I would usually find the two of them with their heads together giggling. They would stop and look at me sheepishly when I walked in. I knew something was going on but I wasn't sure what it was.One night Brenda said that she was going to go to the movies. This. It appeared, from the thumbnails, that we were her favorite performers, since there were several clips saved, a sort of “Greatest Hits” review of her mother’s and my love life. I returned to the video at hand.I restarted it, lost in remembrances. Last year, for my birthday, Kathy had schlepped the kids over to her mother’s house, and we had celebrated at home. The centerpiece, and my very favorite gift, had been her bestowing upon me an evening of bondage and debauchery.Affairs had culminated.