“I don’t remember us ordering the calamari appetizer,” I said aloud to myself.

Uncle Charlie – Part Two

Julia tells her psychiatrist about Uncle Charlie's second visit. This time Uncle Charlie brings a friend to taste the delights that Julia has to offer. Julia is discovered in a compromising position by her mother and father and suffers the consequences.

Please heed the warnings as this chapter explores themes of coercion and reluctance.

The school year ended and we broke up for the summer and there’s not a huge lot more to say about it really. Now the stuff with those teachers is over and done with I settled into, well, normality as a teen girl. I won’t say I forgot my past, that’s not so easy to do, but I felt more normal than I have in a long time. One funny happened while on my way into school during the last week in that I bumped into my ex wife.

Opening the wedding invitation that evening was like a stab in the heart, even though I had suspected this was coming. I sat down on my bed and heaved a huge part-sigh and part-sob. Vicky had chosen Pete over me, so that was that. It was easy to see why she might think he was the better choice; he’d always been more successful and manly than I was. In business he was doing extremely well, on the path to becoming a young executive, whereas I was never going to be executive material; I didn’t have much of a head for business. And Pete did seem like a nice enough guy, at least compared to some of the losers Vicky had seen in the past. Even though he was my rival I’d always almost liked him.

Blake Medical Recovery Center, Napa Valley, Northern California:
Sara and Cindy look down at all the women and some men who have been brought to the center for help and recovery. Both of them couldn’t understand why anyone would forcibly turn innocent males and some women into the opposite sex.

“Mom and sis weren’t joking when they said that there would be days when this job would get to you.” Cindy looks at her twin sister standing next to her.

I had never enjoyed shopping more. My feet ached and we’d about doubled the mortgage on the house, but I had so much new stuff. We did just about manage to empty the back of the car in one trip when we arrived home, but only with both Mum and me carrying as many bags as would fit in each hand.

“What the hell is this?” Dad grumbled from his seat. The water on his table was untouched and there were a couple of extra beer cans beside the one I’d left him. Well, if he wanted to start Sunday with a hangover, that was his lookout.

Boys can dream, can’t they?.

Bryce and Paul were boyhood friends. Many Saturday afternoons had been spent horizontal on sofas watching sports on the TV. As the years went by the cans of cola were replaced by beer, razors were in each bathroom and their voices had broken, of course. Commercial breaks were now occupied by discussions of the attractiveness (or otherwise) of various girls of their mutual acquaintance and the ruses needed to get them wearing as little as possible, as quickly as possible.

Rose mingles with the people at the banquet. She keeps Sasha in sight, so she can talk to her. As for Ciarán, something about him was rubbing her the wrong way. It was a good thing she came prepared. She walks close to Ciarán and gently drops a small GPS tracker into his side pocket. She also scans his cell phone with hers.

While she is close to Ciarán, she listens in on what he is saying to some guy. They were talking about investments and the newest CEO of some company. Nothing that matters to her. She wasn’t into acquiring or having lots of money like her family.

CHAPTER 43
I didn’t sleep that well that night, and probably came across as a little grumpy over breakfast. Chad and Maryam were off quickly, Kul and I following a little later. The drive into work was a bit tense at first, as Kul clearly picked up on my mood.

“I never met her, Mike. Wish I could have”

“Sorry?”

“Me being silly. If I had been given the chance to meet her, you would never have ended up in Sheffield, so we’d never have met, us two that is, and well, yeah. You’re thinking betrayal, aren’t you?”