I glared at the group of them anyway, then pressed my way backwards through the crowd, feeling a lot like a salmon trying to swim upstream. It took so...e effort but I made my way into a little gap in front of some girls I didn’t know who were from Tara’s year. Hoping I would be safer with them behind me rather than boys, I allowed myself to be swept along once more.The way the crowd burst through the front doors and flowed down the steps reminded me of a film I’d seen where they released. . Mike put a hand on her leg. “I forgive you,” he said seriously. “I mean it. Water under the bridge.”“Thank you, Mike,” Emma said, smiling again. A small tear had formed at the corner of one eye and she brushed it away.“One more thing...” Mike said after a pause, “do you think Liz would go out with me?”Emma burst out into laughter.“Only way to find out is to ask her. But, for what it’s worth, I think you have a pretty good shot. You should definitely take it,” she said.“I think I might. But. Sunset was lost behind the clouds hanging low over western Chicago. Cars passed by with the steady thunk-thunk-thunk of chains."Tell us one that nobody's heard before," Anna said, still watching Kalliste work the loom. "If I hear one more cute little story about reindeer and jolly elves I'm going to throw up."Kalliste smiled at Anna's comment. "All right." She settled back, her hands and feet still working the loom. "All right, you want a different story? This one is about the first Christmas.. His hair was thinning. He'd developed a double chin, a pot belly, a general look of middle-aged and out-of-shape unattractiveness. Carla may have fancied him once (although it was difficult to imagine) but she certainly didn't now. At work, at her legal firm, she was surrounded by young, good looking guys who looked at her appreciatively, occasionally flirted with her even knowing she was married, and this only reinforced her growing lack of sexual interest in her husband.The loss of desire was.