Life is merrily moving along for Philip and Victoria, the gallery’s grand opening was a massive success, with Philip’s art work being recognized for its poignant portrayal of human spirit. It’s a night that many would consider a major triumph for any number of reasons. But life being life there are storms that can arise which cast dark shadows over us and cause us to question humanity. What ultimately defines us during this trying times is do we allow a few to poison us with their biases, ignorance and anger at what they can’t and don’t understand or do rise to the occasion more determined to ever to fight for equality and what is right and good in the world.
ACT 21
Despite my initial underlying anxiety about how the evening would ultimately play out it had in my opinion turned out phenomenally well. When I first conceived the concept of pursuing this project I knew I was potentially playing with fire and could end up getting majorly burned by it. But there was a stronger force in me that told me this was an issue that’s time had come, it was an issue that needed do come out of the shadows and be brought into the light. What I was doing wasn’t trail blazing in the strictest sense of the word but it was still a totally new experience for me. I’m not sure why but somehow I felt as if I was somehow meant to pick up this torch and try to enlighten other people by utilizing my talents as an artist. This may have been a cause that was near and dear to Victoria’s heart but it had also become close to my own as I got to know and experience that was to me a brave new world. The crowds thankfully had thinned out considerably and finally it was with great relief that I was able to lock the front doors to the gallery, as the last guest of the evening departed. As great as things had gone I still felt something was missing without Victoria by my side to celebrate all these wonderful new opportunities that were unfolding.
Tino, who was a total star in my books, as he’d held back a plate of his sumptuous appetizers for me to enjoy. He knew all too well how the hosts of these events seldom got to enjoy the actual fair being offered as they were preoccupied with providing the ultimate experience for their guests. I popped them in to my mouth far more rapidly than I meant to, but I was honestly starving by that point. They tasted even better than their mouth-watering appearance had led me to believe they would be. If I’d been left to my own devices I probably would have found a way to devour, even the crumbs that remained on the plate. I’d made sure that the last thing Pamela had done before she left for the club was to cut Tino a cheque for the balance of the payment for his services. I’d also made sure there was an envelope with a healthy cash bonus for not only himself but for his crackerjack team of servers. He balked at taking the bonus of course, insisting the payment itself was more than fair enough, but I held my ground with him, telling him how much I appreciated his stepping up to the plate for me at the last minute.
After a final walk through to ensure everything was ship shape for the opening of business the following day I was ready to lock up for the evening. Tino was going to catch a ride to the club with me so he could catch at least the tail end of Victoria’s act. I loosened my tie and undid the top couple of buttons on my shirt and it was sweet relief to me to be able to do that. “I know that feeling.” Tino laughed and I grinned at him. Obviously the guy was a kindred spirit. I tossed my jacket over my shoulder and we headed out to the car. The night was still and cool at this hour and we both just savoured the quiet and the calm of it all for a brief moment in companionable silence. As I pressed the button on my key fob the unmistakable sound of doors being unlocked echoed in the night. The past few days had been exhausting and under the circumstances the old me, pre Victoria would have headed home, hit the shower, then crawled into the comfort of my bed and slept the sleep of the dead, but that man seemed like a complete stranger to me now. Here I was still raring to go and heading to of all things a drag show, ‘oh how the times they are a changing.’ I thought with a grin. Buckled in and ready to go I stuck the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life, purring like a kitten. The radio oddly enough was playing AD/DC’s "You Shook Me All Night Long" with perfectly timed lyrics of “…She was a fast machine she kept her motor clean, She was the best damn woman that I ever seen…” oh the irony of it all because my Victoria was the high octane fuel that kept my motor clean and she truly was the best damn woman that I’d ever seen.” I turned it down immediately.
“She still loves to sing along to the radio I’m guessing?” Tino laughed. “She was always such fun, even when I first met her.” He reminisced. I sat listening intently not sure if I wanted to hear what was coming next or not. “We had some crazy times together back in the day. We both were busy busting our chops trying to get to the top of our fields, focused and driven so when we cut loose we really cut loose. Victoria always used to say, she worked hard but played just as hard or harder to stay sane and balanced. She always was very focused about anything she undertook and had her head screwed on straight. I always knew that she’d be successful at anything she put her mind to.” He said with an almost reverence in his voice. “She came over one night to have dinner with my wife and I, a couple of months ago and dropped her bombshell about becoming a writer on us. In one sense we were both flabbergasted because she was so incredible at what she did and was going to be financially set for life. But she very calmly and rationally explained what was motivating her to completely turn her life upside down. She said it wasn’t challenging her any more, it had all become so routine and that she was afraid she was losing a major part of herself and that she didn’t want to be a ‘slave to the man’ any longer. At first I thought she was just tired, stressed you know…burnt out. I can’t remember the last time she took a proper vacation to relax, something would always seem to crop up at the office and she’d end up flying home after just a couple days or cancelling her trip altogether.” I could tell that he cared dearly for his old friend and I remained silent hoping he’d go on. Thankfully he did.
“Victoria told me several stories about her co-workers as well, working themselves into early graves with heart attacks, having nervous breakdowns and she even told me about one guy who ended up taking his own life. I have to tell you it scared the crap out of me when she was relating it all to me, then bam it hit me like a ton of bricks what she meant. She wanted to regain control of her life, she wanted the chance to have an actual life again. Victoria wanted a shot at having time to do more than just shuffle aimlessly back and forth between the office and her condo, with just the odd diversion to keep her sane. She had a need to be creative and feel vital again. Secretly I think she also harboured the desire to find someone she could really connect with. The next thing I knew, her Aunt Emily had passed away and left her the house. Then she put her condo on the market, packed up bag and baggage and moved in. Next she gave her notice at the firm. She found that job doing that column so she said at least she could honestly say she’d achieved her goal of getting her foot in the door to becoming a writer. Sush, knew money had gotten a bit tight for her with all the renovations and not pulling in the salary that she had been. Don’t get me wrong she’s far from destitute and she’s invested wisely and well over the years, but she wanted to get back to her roots and do more of the struggling artist thing. So a drag queen named Miss Kitty was born and came out of the closet so to speak. Then to put the icing on the cake and complete the picture for her, you entered her life.” He finished, just as we pulled up in front of the club.
“Victoria’s been pretty candid with me from the first day I met her about giving up her career to follow her dream. Even though, I’d only just met her I felt there was something special about her from the first moment I’d laid eyes on her. I’m not sure that initially she was as enchanted with me as I was with her but I figured I was going to hang in there see if I could grow on her over time. Her candor, her spirit, just everything about her and I wanted to get to know her better, no matter how much time and energy it took me.” I said. “Fortunately for me, she’s given me the chance with her, despite that rough patch we hit when I discovered her little secret.” I paused for a moment, it was embarrassing rehashing it as I knew how uniformed and ignorant I had been in the not so distance past. When I finished, Tino gave me a consolatory smile. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. It must have been a major shock to find that picture and then stumble across her face splashed all over those posters the way you did. I more than likely would have gone in and gotten to the bottom of things myself. The important thing is that you’ve opened your mind and while you might not always totally ‘get it’ about everything that happens in this world at least you’re trying to understand and accept it even if you may not always agree with it. Nobody can ask for more than that out of you.” “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” I agreed with him, feeling just a little better about how I’d behaved that night a couple of weeks earlier. “You’ve come a long way baby.” He joked. “Now come on let’s get inside and catch the show and have a good laugh.”
We bounded up the steps to the club like a couple of high school guys out on the town and ready to party. The more I was getting to know Victoria’s inner circle of friends the more they were becoming my friends as well. It suited me just fine as these were some pretty phenomenal people in their own rights and I genuinely liked them already. The club was dim and it took our eyes a few minutes to adjust to the lighting as we first entered. There was my best girl up on stage singing her heart out. She caught sight of me and flashed me a massive smile as she continued to sing and dance her heart out on stage. I flashed her two thumbs up, then started wending my way through the crowd trying to find Pamela and the other people that we were meeting there. I was rather surprised that I actually bumped into more than a couple faces of clients that had been at the gallery premiere. I found the cluster of familiar faces just as Victoria finished her set. Naturally I started applauding like a mad man as she took her bows and graciously accepted her accolades from the audience. The woman that stood before me on the stage never ceased to amaze me. There she was after a gruelling week of preparations, sleep deprivation, and being the perfect hostess and consummate performer and yet she still managed to look as fresh as a daisy on summer’s day. She introduced the next performer with panache and blew kisses to her adoring fans as she exited the stage steps lithely. She quickly weaved her way through the throngs of bar patrons, towards me. I held out my arms to her and she flew into them and embraced me with a fierce bear hug. When we broke apart, I slipped my arm around her waist as friends pressed into congratulate her. There was a flurry of activity in the forms of hugs, kisses, high fives and excited chatter, as friends offered their hearty praise and well deserved accolades.
Smiling and laughing the entire time, Victoria was in her element and did my heart good to see her so full of life. It had been a challenging evening and to see her exuding such happiness eased any fears that I may have harboured that it had been a burden to her were alleviated. “A drink to celebrate is in order. What’ll it be Miss Kitty?” A voice rose about the rest. “I’d love a bottle of water. I’m completely parched.” She answered with a smile. “Come on now. No champagne? A cocktail of some sort perhaps?” Tino challenged her. “No” she replied with a tinkling laugh, “water will be perfect.” “The ladies wish is my command.” And with that he headed off to the bar. She whispered in a voice that was meant for my ears only. “I have to keep my wits about me, we’ve got some celebrating of our own to do when we get home. The brush of her thigh against mine as she whispered to me sent small shivers of delight up and down my spine. It would have been so easy to sweep her up in my arms, purposely stride towards the door and carry her all the way home so I could finally be alone with her. It seemed like eons since I had last felt her flesh upon my own and I yearned to make love to her with an intensity that was growing with each moment. God how I loved her and wanted to express it to her in every physical sense of the word. My heart ached for her caresses and my loins were working themselves into a warmth that was spreading throughout me as I felt a familiar stirring, which wasn’t helped any by the fact she had slid her hand down to my buttocks and gave me a small squeeze just then. It was a gentle lady like move that would go unnoticed by anyone other than the two of us, but it clearly telegraphed our need to couple with each other in the very immediate future.
Just then Tino returned with my bottle of water and I quickly uncapped it and took a long refreshing drink of the cold water. “Thanks Tino, I so needed that.” I said as I flashed him a grateful grin. I found myself, introducing Philip to my old co-worker Charlie and his husband Scott among other people. Miraculously at least outwardly I was being social and interacting with my friends who were all so wonderfully supportive of both Philip and I. Don’t get me wrong I was grateful for them and their unwavering support and I did want to spend time with them and properly thank them. But for now it was like I was outwardly doing and saying all the right things but inwardly I was secretly willing myself to be back in the privacy of the home I shared with Philip. All I could think about was how much I wanted it to be just the two of us to talk things over in earnest about all that had unfolded this evening. To feel his arms around me, to rest my head upon his chest as we talked quietly. To know that soon there would be shared kisses and gentle touches that would lead the two of us to even greater heights or expressing feelings about each other. To feel his lips skimming over my bared shoulders as if he were writing poems upon my flesh. Poems that I would commit to memory to read over and over time again in my memories. “Victoria? Are you all right?” A voice gently prodded me. “Oh yes. Just a wee bit tired is all. It’s been a rather long week and I think I’m finally coming off the adrenaline high of it all and my body and mind are beginning to really relax for the first time in days. So I’ll have to apologize for zoning out on you like that.” I responded as I was scrambling to collect my thoughts.
Fortunately my friends are both an understanding and forgiving group of individuals. “I think it’s us that should be apologizing to you and Philip. You two have had a majorly hectic week preparing for tonight. You’ve also both packed far more into one day, then the average person could not to mention the fact that you managed to pull it off with such aplomb.” Charlie said. “Yes” agreed Tino “Why don’t you two call it a night and head home and relax, if Victoria is done her performances for the evening?” “That sounds like a capital idea. You two deserve to put your feet up and unwind.” Scott added. “I’ve so enjoyed getting to know you better Victoria but these gentleman are right, go home and enjoy a little peace and quiet together.” Pamela pitched in her thoughts. “There’s no need for you to worry about opening the gallery tomorrow either Philip. That’s why you hired such a crackerjack staff like myself to take care of things like that.” Philip looked at me solemnly and stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Do you think they’re trying to give us the bums rush and get rid of the two of us?”
He asked trying to sound mildly insulted at that prospect but his weary but twinkling eyes betrayed him. “Yes” chorused the group around us, who then burst into laughter. “Are you really sure you don’t mind. It seems so rude to leave so soon and there’s so much catching up that I want to do with all of you.” I fretted. “You are the least rude person in the world Victoria.” Miss Antoinette assured me from her perch on a bar stool. “Now be a good girl and take that young man of yours home and get some rest my dear.” “Well… if you all insist. ”I started to say reluctantly as heads bobbed up and down to assure me that they did indeed mean it and understood. “I’ll just grab my drag bag from the dressing room and we can be off then Philip. “One step ahead of you, it’s already here hon. I asked Candy Cane to bring it up with her when she came up for her next number and here it is.” Sush said pulling the bag from behind her and passing it to Philip. I hurriedly exchanged quick hugs and kisses with my friends along with promises that we’d seriously make plans in the very near future to catch up with one another. Philip took my hand after that and led me out to the car.
Once in the car and fastened in I snuggled as close to Philip as I possibly could. My hand rested on his thigh. It suddenly hit me how exhausted I truly was, as I tried unsuccessfully to stifle a massive yawn. “My girl’s tired.” He said, as the stroked back a wisp of hair that had fallen across my cheek and kissed my temple softly. “Hmmm hmmm” I murmured “I think I’m more tired than I realized.” I responded as rested my head against his shoulder. “It won’t be long now. A few short minutes more and we’ll be home. I promise I’ll take care of you when we get there.” I smiled and closed my eyes as he inserted the key into the ignition. I didn’t even realize that he’d left the curb where we’d been parked led alone driven the two of us home. The soft warmth of his kiss on my cheek roused me slightly and my eyelids fluttered open. “Are we ready to go? I asked numbly still thinking we were parked in front of the club. “Honey we’re home.” He responded gently. “We’ve been home about ten minutes now actually I’ve just been watching you sleep, you looked so peaceful. I was also debating the best way to get you inside without disturbing you. I was getting ready to carry you in actually.” He said brushing is lips against me once more. “That’s very sweet of you my love, but I think I can make it to the door under my own steam.”
Philip scurried out and around the car to open my door as I steeled myself for want seemed like a marathon walk to the front door at the moment. He held his hand out to help and I was grateful that he had. I was a bit unsteady on my feet from the exhaustion and these blasted high heels I still had on weren’t helping the situation any too much. I faltered as I stepped out like a new born colt trying out their unsteady legs for the first time. Philip was on top of the situation immediately and scooped me up easily into his arms. “That’s it missy. No protesting I’m going to carry you. I’ll bring your bag inside in the morning.” He scolded me in an authoritative yet loving manner. I just gave him a smile and wrapped my arms around his neck as he cradled me protectively in his arms as he carried me across the front lawn and up the stairs to the house. Unlocking the front door was a bit of challenge with me in his arms yet somehow he mastered the situation and swept me inside and carried me to the living room and set me down gently on the sofa. Sydney who’d been hot on our trail since the moment the door had first opened, leapt up beside me on the sofa and nuzzled his fuzzy little head against my resting hand, as if saying, “welcome home I’ve missed you.”
It felt good to finally be home and for the first time in days I was actually beginning to relax. Philp slipped my shoes off and propped my stocking clad feet on his lap, so that he could massage them. His strong hands caressing my tender aching feet felt like heaven to me. The pressure he applied with his thumbs running up and down the length of my arches. Brought with it a pleasurable pain as he worked out the kinks in them. “You’re going to spoil me Philip.” I purred as he worked his magic on my feet with his hands. “I’m the one that should be pampering you. It’s your big night after all.” I apologized to him as he continued his administrations. “Quite the contrary this night belongs to both of us and none of it would have happened without you. Besides I enjoy doing things for you.” He smiled warmly as he leaned in and kissed me. Which earned a disgruntled “mrrrrrow” from Sydney who had gotten sandwiched between the two of us. As a miffed Sydney hopped down off the sofa, Philip somehow managed to inch me further along the sofa, until I was ensconced in his lap. “Much better to kiss you now my dear.” He mussed as he did exactly that. Those kisses were warm, gentle reminders of the depths this man loved me.
“Now”, he said as he stroked my face softly. “You put your feet up and relax, or if you feel up to it now why not go upstairs and hop into a nice hot shower. It’ll help you unwind and be able to sleep better. While you do I’m going to feed Syd here and take care of his needs. I’m also going to put the kettle on and brew you a cup of one of those herbal sleepy time teas that you like so well. I want you totally mellowed out so you can get a good night’s sleep tonight.” Philip said as he kissed the tip of my nose lightly. “You seriously just want to sleep?” I asked him, demurely batting my eyes at him. “No, I really want to ravish every inch of you, and write poems on your flesh with my tongue and lips.” His answer though not unexpected had the effect of sending electric impulses throughout my erogenous zones. “But I also am a realist and I know that as much as you a more than willing partner, we’re both extremely tired. So tonight we cuddle, enjoy the nearness of each other...then tomorrow morning when we wake up refreshed, we’ll have our wicked way with each other. In ways that are probably considered illegal or immoral in a great many places in the world.” He breathed hotly into my ears which only served to fuel my desires. “Besides the anticipation will just heighten the experience for both of us.” My response was to purr, as he slid a kiss from my earlobe down my throat and over my shoulder. I shuddered from both desire and as he had predicted anticipation of the delights that the morning would bring the two of us.
While Philip performed his duties with Sydney and in the kitchen I did take him up on his offer to just go and unwind with a hot shower. The hot water streaming down had had a most therapeutic effect just as Philip had intended it would. It felt wonderful to have the layers of stage make up finally come off. It was a much more relaxed woman that Philip found curled up on the sofa when he walked into the living room with a tray laden with mugs of tea and a small snack on it. I eyed the plate questioningly. “My specialty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We’re having a tea party. I even cut the crusts off and sliced them into little triangles for the occasion.” He responded quite pleased with his logic at this hour of the morning and I couldn’t contain my smile. “Besides you’re like me, you are pretty much always hungry and I know you like to have something after you’ve done one of your show, so figured why not just make us a little something to enjoy with the tea?” “Why not indeed.” I responded as he set the tray down on the coffee table. He handed me a steaming mug of the fragrant herbal tea, took one for himself in one hand and the plate of sandwiches in the other and placed them on his lap, so we had easy access to our little late night feast. As we nibbled on our late night snack and drank our tea we talked over the events of the evening.
Humbly he looked at me and softly spoke, "Victoria, I can't say it enough, but thank you for everything tonight, none of this would have been possible without you." “Me?” I asked incredulously. “I’m not the artist, you are! You came up with idea for those amazing pictures. I would never have thought to visualize the idea that although their appearances are so different , deep down inside they have the same basic dreams we all have in the pursuit of happiness. You are the one with the creative talents that were recognized by the AGO members. You are the one that came up with that film vignette and took a major career risk going through with his project” I reiterated, truly believing this night was all Philip’s. “Fair enough my dear, but had I not met you and your friends I never would have found such truly inspiring subjects for my works. You opened my eyes and my heart to a whole new world of experiences and as result my creative juices really began flowing. You introduced me to some people that I have come to view as extraordinary and whom I'm proud to call colleagues and friends. Someday I hope to be able to call some of them long time, dear friends. You showed me the magic of humanity, just when I had begun to lose faith in it more and more over the last few years.
You, in the strictest sense of the word, have become my muse. And furthermore, there was no way I would have been able to even pull off the last minute catering had it not been for you. I either would have ended up getting charged twice the going rate for a last minute job or ended up feeding my guests cold delivered pizzas. Face it sweetheart you and I are pretty great on our own but when we put our heads together and team up, we’re an unstoppable a force to be reckoned with. So I will stand by my earlier statement that this is our night.” Philip maintained. I considered it briefly and nodded in agreement. Smiling, he stroked his finger down my nose, in a playful gesture. “See that wasn’t so hard to agree with me, now was it?” He inquired which only served to make me giggle. “No it wasn’t so bad at all.” I agreed. We polished off the few remaining finger sandwiches on the plate and drank the last swells of tea from our mugs. Placing them on the tray Philip carried them into the kitchen and put the dishes in the sink for us to deal with in the morning. It was a weary and contented couple who climbed the stairs to their bedroom, arm in arm.
Despite our agreement to wait until the morning to become truly amorous with each other I couldn’t help but tease Philip with a little miniature strip tease as I peeled my panties down my legs and removed them. I could see the appreciative gleam in his eyes and noticed that he even ran his tongue over his top lip and I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he gulped silently. Good I was having the effect I desired on him. If I had to wait to make love to him and he was the one that thought the anticipation would bring us ultimately more pleasure then I was totally willing to play the game. I decided to leave my t shirt on as it clung nicely to my curves showing them off to a certain advantage, as well as the fact that it just barely covered my bottom and that special sweet spot that he had grown so found of over the past couple of weeks. I dove on to the bed and crawled across it, like a panther stalking its prey and I knew that Philip’s eyes would be trained on my cat like movements and the curve of my thighs. All is fair in love and war, I thought mischievously to myself. The joke however ended up being on me though as I crawled in under the covers and waited for Philip to join me in bed. He purposely took his own sweet time undressing, which proved to be sensual series of delights for me. When he was down to nothing but his boxers, I bit my lips waiting for him to remove them. He hooked his fingers in the band and started to slide them down. Unveiling is hips oh so painstakingly slowly, the briefest glimpse of his pubic hair being revealed. Now it was my turn to gulp. That’s when he quickly returned them to their original position on his waist. “Let that be a lesson to you, missy, two can play at creative ways to prolong the pleasure.” He gave me a sexy seductive laugh, flicked off the lights by the bedroom door and made his way towards the bed.
Crawling into bed beside me, he took me in his arms and I snuggled into him. “I love you, you know.” He said as he stroked my hair. “I love you too.” I said as I moved into a position so we could share some late night kisses. Even though we weren’t making love, we were still sharing a very precious form of intimacy which was drawing us closer as a couple. Philip was an amazing kisser and I revelled in sharing this experience with him. Being only human, naturally our bodies responded each in their own unique ways. I could feel Philip’s firmness pressing against my thigh through the cloth of his boxers and knowing I wasn’t going to be benefiting from it this evening it was both frustrating and strangely titillating all at the same time. I was truly beginning to understand why he wanted us to wait until we were both well rested.The hot shower, combined with the herbal tea, and the comfort of lying in Philip’s protective arms was causing me to grow dreamily drowsy once more. I had just dozed off with my head on Philip’s chest when the phone on my bedside table began to ring. “Do you want me to get that?” Philip mumbled half asleep himself. “No, but if we don’t …” As if being able to read my mind, Philip reached over and grabbed the phone and handed it over to me. “Hello?” I mumbled groggily into the receiver.
“Victoria?” the voice on the other end sobbed. Immediately I was a wake and fully alert, my heart racing madly. “I didn’t want to bother you but I didn’t know who else to call, you know Sush’s parents don’t live here and you’re her closest friend in the world. “What’s wrong with Sush?” Is she ill?” I demanded to know with concern in my voice. Even though Philip could only here my end of the conversation it was enough to jolt him into reality and spur him to action. He quickly padded over to the lights and turned them on as he began rummaging through drawers for a pair of jeans and a sweater to slip into. Then he dug out something for me to wear. “You’ve got to take a deep breath and tell me what happened.” I replied as calmly as I could. The words on the other end of the phone spilled out at me. “We were walking home after the show and decided to cut through the park. There were some guys in the park…they, they started with wolf whistles, which was fine, we just kept walking. Then they got more aggressive with their comments, and when they realized that we were actually men it got really ugly. They started calling us faggots and cursing us for being freaks, said people like us didn’t deserve to be alive.
Then they started spitting at us…it was horrible… then the hitting started us. Said we weren’t going to be pretty boys any more when they finished with us. Sush tried to reason with them, but they were complete animals. Her trying to reason with them, just enraged them further….” She sobbed into the phone. As much as I wanted to know the full story right now my main concern was getting to my friend. “Where are you two now? Are you safe?” We’re in the emergency room at St. Mike’s Hospital. They brought us here by ambulance. Oh Victoria I’m scared half to death, Sush is still unconscious….” She stammered into the phone. “I’m on my way, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Hang in there, and make sure you get seen as well”…”Oh God, Vic’s hurry please.” She pleaded into the phone. “I’m hanging up now and should be there in about 15 minute’s tops.” Phillip who was dressed, sensed the direness of the situation. “Get dressed, I’ll grab your shoes you can put them on in the car. I’ll get the car and meet you out front. You can tell me about it on the way.” And with that he disappeared and I heard him thundering down the stairs. I dressed in record time with the clothes he’d laid out for me and sprinted down the stairs. Grabbed my purse, locked the door and ran barefooted down the front steps and front walk to the car where Philip was waiting for me in the driver’s seat with the passenger door open for me to hop into. I leapt in beside him. “GO!!” I panted at him as I slammed the car door shut.
To be continued............