Writer’s Note: There is a blog entry for this chapter. I wanted to address the concern about Luke and the overall arch of the story. It has a minor spoiler in it and that is why I did not put it here.

New Contract
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

I used to believe that the two most valuable things that I had were my custom-made CZ 75B and my penis. Now I have only one of those. My CZ 75B is my tool of trade, after all.

In addition to a good weapon, the other two ingredients for a success career in my chosen profession are a total disregard for human life and total anonymity. You lose either of those and you are no use. In fact, as far as my handler would be concerned, you are worse than useless - you are a liability.

 

Chapter 5 - The Talk

When my parents got home, I somehow managed to convince them that I hadn't spent the afternoon doing something that was, well, considered perverted back then. Not that they asked, but there wasn't much of anything else on my mind. Heck, a lot of people still consider it perverted right now in 2020.

Bab’s New Year’s Resolution 38 ©

Raven and Clair were entangled with one another in bed. Raven was on top of Clair with one leg in between Clair’s leg and she had her head tucked in the nook of Clair’s shoulder. The two of them had enjoyed each other’s bodies for a while.

What came as a surprise, was Clair getting a small amount of milk from Raven’s breasts. She had sucked on Raven breasts several times before. However, this time was different. Raven’s breasts had produced a mouthful of breast milk. It had surprised Raven like it did Clair.

 

Chapter 4 - The First Time

It's really hard to pay attention in class when you're distracted. School was pretty easy for me, I enjoyed learning and liked to unravel puzzles. Math was OK, history was fascinating and I loved science. About that time I started to figure I could do without gym class. Not that I didn't like exercise, but I got plenty of that on my bike. It's the posturing and jock idiots that got my goat.

Mary looked down at Meagan as one of her hands stroked her hair. She was worried when Meagan collapsed. But everybody told her she had just fainted. Which was understandable. Everything that’s happened since last night is a lot to take in. And then, to be told that the gods had changed her. Well, who wouldn’t have fainted?

Zindla liked having a little girl around, even if she was older than she looked, and used to be a boy. Seeing her cousins and other children who lived in the neighborhood, she’d sometimes regretted being an only child, and now she felt like she almost knew what it was like to have a little sister. Devi was so enthusiastic and curious about everything; having her around was like seeing everything for the first time.

Haylee pours the feed she has for the horses. The temperature had dropped and she was outside in her winter gear feeding the animals. She spots John and Berry feeding the cows over near the other corral.

Haylee finishes feeding the horses and heads over towards John and Perry. She enjoys being out among her grandfather’s animals. She rides her four-wheeler over towards the animal feed and loads the trailer attached to her four-wheeler up with food. Afterward, she heads over towards the gate and head into the corral.

When your girlfriend tells you she needs space it’s always a bad thing.
Nothing good ever comes from that phrase.

Of course, when your boyfriend tells it to you its worse.
It’s a multiplying, majorly monumental stress fit.

 

Chapter 3 - Sonya Henie's Tutu!

Up in my bedroom I sat at my desk in a daze. Until a half hour ago I wouldn't have thought anything could have made me think of anything but not being able to try on my new clothes. I wasn't happy with my mother for trying to distract me from my funk, but - Sonya Henie's Tutu! - she had managed it.

Births Deaths and Marriages
A Short Story
By Maryanne Peters

Allan Bingley was not the sort of man who you might think of as a criminal.

He has a small open and honest looking face on a small non-descript body, slightly flabby. He had very little hair on his head. Alopecia rather than pattern baldness, had robbed him of his hair when he was not yet thirty. His mother assured him that it would grow back. It never did. And now she was dead.