"My cousin has a farm about three hours north of here. He grows it in his barn," Tom said proudly. "Man, he always has the best fucking stuff going. Hardly any seeds and just look at all the red hairs in here." He held out a sandwich bag half filled with dried out buds. "Fucking beautiful stuff. Not like that shit Smoky sells."

Crystal took another hit before passing the joint to Stephanie. "Oh yeah, this is very nice."

"So what's with the shit kickers?" the redhead asked, pointing at Crystal's boots.

"Oh, I got a job clearing out the old credit union building on Exchange."

"You mean where they had the fire?"

"Stop talking and take your fucking hit," Tom growled, leaning forward in his seat to reach for the joint.

"Yeah," Crystal said, answering Stephanie's question. Stop being such a dork, Tom. "Pay's pretty good. Ten an hour and the hours are flexible." "You hear that?" the redhead addressed her husband. "Ten bucks an hour. Are they hiring?"

"I think so. I was just hired today." Crystal reached out to take the joint from Tom, who insisted on getting at least three hits in before passing it. "I don't work for less than twelve," he said, reaching for his beer. "So how come you ain't working down at the Tom Cat anymore?" "I'm just doing this temporarily while my lip heals. I got hurt in a bar fight last week."

"Oh." Tom took a several gulps from the can. "Gonna say, with an ass like yours you're better off making some money with it than doing work some fat bitch can do." He reached out to take the joint from Stephanie. "Not like this cow can get paid to take off her clothes."

"Fuck you," the redhead said. "Keep it up and you can sleep at your fucking mother's house tonight."

"At least her house isn't a fucking pigsty like this place," he said, passing the joint to Crystal. "She doesn't work all day. You think she'd be able to run the fucking vacuum once in a while."

Oh man, please don't fight tonight, Crystal silently pleaded. I just want to catch a good buzz and get going.

"Like you head off each morning to work, right?"

"Oh fuck you, Steph." He grabbed the baggie and his cigarettes off the tray and stood up. "I don't have to sit and listen to this shit." "Fine, go to Mark's or something. I don't give a shit."

"Fine."

"Just leave me some pot, will ya?"

"Go to hell. Get your own." He stormed out the door, not bothering to close it.

"Where's he going?" Crystal asked, taking advantage of the commotion to take an extra couple of hits on the joint. "Hey, you got any clips?"

"On the shelf behind you," Stephanie answered. "Screw him. I knew he wouldn't leave me any." She walked into the bathroom and returned with a canister of hair spray. Crystal found a set of forceps, the tips sticky with built up resin, and clipped thee.g.of the joint.

"Here you go. There isn't much left."

"Don't worry about it, Crys." Stephanie took the seat vacated by Tom and took the offered roach clip. "Thanks." She inhaled sharply, making the tip of the joint blaze orange. Handing it back, she exhaled slowly to avoid choking. "Oh that's good. Here." The redhead held the hair spray canister in both hands and gave it a twist. The bottom unscrewed to reveal a small metal pipe, rolling papers, lighter and a black film canister. "Tom doesn't know about this. Whenever he's got a new batch, after he falls asleep I come out and pinch a few buds for myself. He thinks he's punishing me, the stupid asshole." She opened the film case and dumped the hidden stash of marijuana out onto the tray. "You feel like switching to the pipe? I hate fucking around with papers."

"Sure, no prob," Crystal replied. "So you and Tom are obviously back together. You're not working anymore?"

"No, fuck that. I had a job delivering pizza but the truck broke down and I couldn't afford to get it fixed. Asshole boss wouldn't let me use the company car because I had a minor fender bender with it last winter."

"That sucks." I wouldn't loan you my car either. I know how you drive. Crystal took the metal pipe and reached for her lighter. "Where are the kids?" "Marci is staying with my mother until the hearing next week. They won't tell me where Ricky is." Stephanie took the pipe. "Tom and I were fighting and the fucking neighbors called the cops. Well, you know how that goes. They came in and saw the pot out and busted us and took the kids."

"Oh no. So what happens now?"

Stephanie shrugged and lit the pipe. "I don't know."

"Well, did you call legal aid?"

"Why bother? They'll give me the kids back. Tom will agree to go into a rehab for thirty days and we'll get benefits while he's in there. It's happened before. Here."

Crystal took the pipe and sucked hard. How can you sit there and not care where your kids are and what they're doing? What are you still doing with that asshole? Finally the outrage within her was too much. "Steph, what are you still doing with him?"

"Oh, you know how it is, Crys. He says he won't do it again and I fall for it. Same shit all the time."

"But you keep going back to him. Why? At least I was smart enough to get away from shit like that."

"I know I know," the redhead said. "He's an asshole loser and always will be but what can I do? He's their father."

"So what? He's not a good one if he isn't bringing in any money. Steph, you deserve better than him. The kids do too." God! she screamed inside. She's acting just like my mother. "You think Marci likes waking up to him throwing one of his fits?"

"He's still their father." She shrugged. "I don't think it bothers her much." She held out the pipe. "Here, have another hit."

You have got to be kidding me. In her mind Crystal saw her mother sitting on a similar couch, drinking herself blind and ignoring the animal that terrorized her kids. Crystal held the lighter over the bowl and pressed the pipe to her lips. What am I doing here? Why am I sitting with this reincarnation of my mother? As she exhaled, another thought hit her. How the fuck am I gonna get home? "Steph, keep the beers but I've gotta get going here."

"You sure? Come on, sit down and have another beer. You can handle another one, can't you?"

"Of course I can but I really have to get going. I forgot I promised my roommate I'd help her with something tonight." Crystal grabbed her cigarettes and lighter, stuffing them into her pocket.

"You have a roommate? Since when?"

"My apartment burned down a few weeks ago. Listen, I really gotta go." Crystal stood up only to sit right back down. "Whoa." The pot hit hard, making it an effort to keep her eyes open.

"Hey, sit back and relax." Stephanie held the pipe out. "Come on, one more won't hurt. I never get company."

No shit, who'd want to? "No, I really do have to get home." Okay Crystal, you can do this, she told herself. Just get to your feet. Again she rose but this time managed to stay upright. "You know my beeper number right? Give me a call when you get a phone."

"Well, now you know where I live. Don't be such a stranger. Maybe with the kids not here Tom and I will have a party on the weekend or something. You should stop by."

"Yeah, maybe I will." Crystal reached for the doorknob, leaning her weight against it. "Thanks for the smoke."

"Anytime, Crys. Stop by soon."

Turn the knob, don't fall. Crystal tried to follow her own instructions but the steps proved to be too much of a challenge. She stumbled on the last one, ending up sitting on the ground. Shit. She looked up to see if Stephanie noticed but the porch was empty. Don't even give a shit enough to make sure I made it to the car, eh? Rolling onto her knees, Crystal forced herself to focus and stand up. Oh shit I had way too much to smoke. Leaning her hand against the side of the trailer, she made her way forward. Tom wasn't kidding about it being a one hit wonder, was he? Shit, I can barely stand up. She stumbled the remaining feet between the front of Stephanie's home and the Omni.

Open the door. Shit, unlock the door first, dummy. It took three tries to get the door open, then it was a challenge to wiggle the tortured key out of the lock. Oh shit, how am I supposed to drive? I'm not going to be able to see the fucking road. Crystal leaned against the headrest. Come on, Crys, you gotta get outta here. Stabbing blindly at the ignition finally resulted in getting the key where it belonged. Oh man, I shouldn't be doing this. Grabbing the steering wheel, she pulled herself upright and started the engine.

The window was down but was of little help. The Omni veered from side to side on its slow trek up Essex Street. A blaring horn jerked her out of her trance in time to avoid striking an oncoming vehicle. Shit, I can't do this. Turning the steering wheel, Crystal pulled into the corner lot and threw the car in park. On the corner stood a blue and white phone booth. Yeah, that's it. I'll call someone to get me. Then came another problem as a check of her pockets revealed two nickels and a penny. I bet I've dropped a quarter somewhere around here. Course there's not a chance in hell I'm bending over to look. I'd probably pass out.

Laura stared in disbelief at the screen. Three months? The response from the publisher had been swift. Upon missing her deadline, the print date for her book was pushed out three months, putting it past the big fall fair and ruining any chances she had of getting holiday sales. The print date change meant many things but of an even higher importance was the effect it had on her income. With the book now unavailable until after the new year, there would be no quarterly royalty checks for at least six months. Her previous works provided enough to pay the monthly bills but rent and day to day needs was a different matter. The phone rang but she made no effort to get it. Probably another telemarketer. Sighing, she closed the email and loaded her web browser. Guess I'll see if I can afford a tune-up before winter or if I have to conserve toothpaste. The phone continued to ring until the answering machine picked up. See? No message. Knew it wasn't important. Seconds later the phone rang again. Deciding this time that it wasn't a telemarketer, she walked over to the nightstand and picked up phone. "Hello?"