It was a relief to be alone for a few moments. Mickey looked around the parlor and felt a sudden yearning for a male place. One with swearing and spitting, with men drinking beer and watching football. A place where he could scratch, no matter where he itched, and tell sexist jokes. A place that gloried in male chauvinism and didn’t allow women in ever. No way, no how.
He went out into the hall, hoping for some coffee since he beer wasn’t an option, and found Luci in the hall an odd look on her face and wearing her grubbing-in-the-garden shorts and tank top. Even dirty, her legs were an inspiration that made him yearn for a male-meets-female place.
She smiled at him, but there was strain in the smile. Mickey wasn’t Oprah, but he knew an Oprah moment when he saw one. He hesitated, then de
