The next morning, I faced packing and wondered if I could leave somethings that I had bought behind. I put the thought off as I prepared for my morning jog. Having gotten into a routing with my preparations it wasn’t more than 20 minutes before I was out the door. Although we sort of had discussed my coming back, I wanted to make sure that Sam was happy with me leaving stuff at the house.

I pushed the last ½ a mile and ended up a bit out of breath when I finished. Ted from next door was doing something to one of the cars and waved to me as I jogged up.

“Nice run huh?”

CHAPTER 35
I was still reliving that break a month later, realising that we had a high bar indeed for good food now, thanks to Madame Boucher, and just as high a set of standards for fantastic places to stay. We had settled on one of those other ideas for our post-nuptial break, flying to Rome for a few days and then taking the train to Florence, Venice, Austria and Germany, flying home from Cologne, where there was apparently a chocolate museum. I joked that it would be an excuse to get her into her ‘barmaid’ uniform, and see if she could yodel. She had slapped my arse and told me to behave, or rather only misbehave in ways she could enjoy.

The paddle is in the bag in the hall closet and I've been looking at the closet door since eight in the morning.

I get it out around ten. The bag has the new paddle in it. It's the replacement I ordered after I put the other one through its edge guard the night this started. I take it out and grip it. The grip wraps the same. The flare of the handle, the weight forward of my hand, all of it as it should be. I bounced a ball off the face a few times in the apartment and it goes where I aim it.

Chapter Two

James should have known he was in trouble when Ashley started smiling.

Not her normal smile.

This was the smile she got when she’d already decided something was going to happen and was simply waiting for everyone else to catch up.

James stood in the middle of their apartment living room with his arms folded.

“I still think this is a terrible idea.”

Ashley sat cross-legged on the couch.

“You’ve said that seventeen times.”

“Because it’s a terrible idea.”

“You need a job.”

“I know.”