” “I smell a soliloquy.” “Indulge me this one.” I groaned, rolling over on the bed to face her, “Who do you think is the most powerful per...on in the Highlands?” Elena rolled her eyes. “It’s not you, is it?”“No. The most powerful person in the Highlands is the peasant. Yes, he must move out of the way when anyone above his station walks the same road, and yes, he must bow and grovel and beg for what he wants, but who is he responsible for? No one. He is at the very top.” “You mean the very. Are we clear?” “Yeah …” “What was that? I didn’t hear you. I said, are we clear?” “Yes, sir. We are. Like Windex.” “Good, now get the fuck outta here. The A.D.’s gonna be here in ten minutes and I’ve gotta explain to him why none of you little fucks are graduating on time. See you at practice.” *** When I got home that night, I called the number on the piece of paper the coach had given me. Someone answered on the third ring – and she sounded fucking hot. “Hi, uh … is this, uh … Alicia?” “Yes,. Sitting alone, naked, I played online for a while, when I saw Scott come on. I didn’t hesitate and sent him an IM right away.“Hey Scott. I’m finally back. It seems like it’s been forever.” He wrote back, asking how the trip was. I told him it was uneventful, but long and we made small chat for a while. Finally, I had to ask.“So, are you still interested in hooking up again? I know we didn’t get to do what we both wanted the last time. I’m still wanting it, though, if you are,” I wrote. . It was the third time I'd had a visitor like that. The others couldn't believe it either. One guy left me a twenty out of pity.I had finally banked over that magic number, two hundred thousand dollars. Now, instead of re-investing in more CDs and municipal bonds I cashed them in as they came due and deposited everything into a savings account.I was on the look-out for an old tugboat with a blown engine. I planned to strip it down and rebuild it from the ribs on up. I had a seven fifty horse.