Finally, I Drew In A Long Breath.

Pam Said, "sookie, I Brought You Something, Too. I Never Thought I'd Want To Spend Time With A Human, But You're More Tolerable Than Most.

When You've Been Really Beaten, You Realize That You Are Just An Envelope Of Skin, An Easily Penetrated Envelope That Holds Together A Lot Of Fluids And Some Rigid Structures, Which In Their Turn Can Simply Be Broken And Invaded.

When You're A Professional You Do Your Job No Matter What Gets In The Way. You Might Take A Sick Day, You Might Take A Personal Day, But Then You Show Back Up Or You Won't Get Paid. Everyone Develops His/her Own Strategy For Dealing With Days That Are Not Productive.

Eric Was Holding My Hands, And I Was Digging My Nails Into Him Like We Were Doing Something Else. He Won't Mind, I Though, As I Realized I'd Drawn Blood. And Sure Enough, He Didn't. "let Go," He Advised Me, And I Loosened My Grip On His Hands. "no, Not Of Me," He Said Smiling. "you Can Hold On To Me As Long As You Want.

I'd Been Blindsided With The Most Painful Knowledge: The First Man To Ever Say He Loved Me Had Never Loved Me At All. His Passion Had Been Artificial. His Pursuit Of Me Had Been Choreographed.