Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Pink Lady Apple Yeggs and my friend, and brother-in-law, Deviled Yeggs suggested that I record each project that I set up in the hopes of reforming the people who continue to work for Lily the Pink Enterprises.  If for no other reason, it would show how God is at work.

This story starts right after New Year’s Day, but with updates to the present.

Brooke, the Flintheart third base person on the softball team, was in my office during normal open-door hours.

I asked, “Should you not be enjoying the last free days before you go back to school, Brooke?”

I heard Kanok running over.  She bowed and said, “Sawasdee Kha.”  Brooke returned the greeting.  Then Kanok went back to the play area.  “Brooke is here!”  Joon laughed, as usual.

Brooke brightened, “She got it right!”

I nodded, “Yes, if she really likes you, she works at getting it right, eventually.  That doesn’t mean that others do not mimic her mistakes.  This complex is filled with Kanokized language.  I have given up trying to fix it.  How are you, my dear?”

Brooke smiled, “My last doctor visit was very hopeful.  They do not have any reason to think that the abuse that I received this last summer will lead to infertility.  For better or worse, the body functions are all there and everything else seems to be healthy.  Goober and I simply need to decide when we are to marry, and then we can plan for the first child.  Six months ago, I wanted to know right then, but now I am emotionally and spiritually healed.  I can wait.  I still want to play softball in college.  Coach Evers encourages me each time we meet.”

I gasped, “I thought she was limited in the number of recruiting contacts she could make.”

Brooke snickered, “We go to the same church.  In fact, you go there too.  Coach Evers sits near the back, and sometimes in the balcony.  I’m thinking of joining the choir at First-Third.  Emmett says he needs a strong alto.  I didn’t think I was that strong, but Emmett trusts me.  But, Mommie Pinkie, I came here to ask you a favor.  I know that I do not work here.  I do not reside here.  But I have a problem, or it’s my family that has the problem.  And you are a problem solver at times.”

I patted her hand, “Brooke, there is no need to apologize.  Just say it.”

Brooke still was hesitant.  She showed concern.  “My parents are throwing my brother out of the house.  He will need a home soon.”

I sighed, “The mission downtown houses single people.  I house married couples, sometimes two people who are dating, and single mothers.”

Brooke said, “But my brother does not have a job.  He has no prospects of having a job.  He is antisocial, and he’s very creepy.  He has bad habits that the mission may prefer to not have around.”

I smiled, “You have painted the picture of someone that does not quite seem to be human.  Is he that bad?”

Brooke looked at the floor.  “Mommie Pinkie, he will be twenty-one in a couple of weeks.  He has never worked a day in his life.  He has not had a day of schooling since he graduated high school.  He barely graduated high school, and he barely passed the test to get his driver’s license.  Mom and Dad dropped him from the insurance policy, since they had both of us as drivers and they were paying a small fortune.  He hasn’t driven the car anywhere for nearly a year.”

I asked, “What does he do?”

Brooke looked me in the eyes and said, “He watches porn all day.”

I gasped, “Ouch!  So, why ask me for help?”

Brooke fumbled with her hands, not knowing where to put them.  “You did wonders for Otto.  Can you do the same with my brother?”

I sighed, “Zuzka did wonders for Otto and the budding romantic angle kept him motivated.  When that is all your brother has done for three years, what might motivate him to change?”

Brooke said, “My folks had told him that he was no longer welcome at the house once he turned 21.  That is weeks away.  Dad had him shadow him at work.  Dad thought he could take over the plumbing business, but my brother said the job stunk.  He didn’t like the smell.  I am sure Zuzka would not want to help.  She has the cutest little baby, but is there someone else that could do the same thing?”

I suggested, “We have a few ladies in the same age bracket as your brother, but I have no idea if any of them would want to tackle that kind of an entrenched addict.  There is Tina, Tammie and Josie.  The other single females are dating someone.  I would hate to ask one of the former prostitutes.  It might be too hard on them.”  I called Julia to see if Tina, Tammie, and Josie were available.

I said, “While they are being gathered together, let’s get a back story.  By the way, you have never mentioned your brother’s name.”

Brooke looked at the floor, “Please, don’t be mad.  His name is Baldwyn Baxter.”

“Oh dear,” I said.

Brooke groaned, “I guess this changes things.”

I waved my hands.  “No, Sweetie, I have to prove that I have forgiven my cousin for all the pain he caused.  Just think, I might have never searched for a Savior just to find the Savior.  There are a lot of Christians under this roof.  The vespers each night are packed, standing room only.  Then again, the vespers services are short.  What Satan means for harm, God makes it good.  Please, has Baldwyn shown any interest in any kind of job?”

Brooke shook her head.  “No, Mommie Pinkie, he just eats his meals and returns to his room.  He doesn’t even talk to us anymore.”

I asked, “Are your parents going to kick him out or is this big talk?”

Brooke said, “He has already been taken off the family automobile insurance, and they have talked to the cellphone people about removing his line from the service.  They basically can do that with one phone call.  I think they are serious, Baldwyn does not think anything they do is serious.”

At that point, Zuzka came in with Tammie, Tina, and Josie.

I explained what the situation was.  Zuzka nodded in agreement that Baldwyn Baxter needed a champion, someone to guide him into adulthood, although he would be kicking and screaming.

But then, I got one surprise and two expected replies.  Tammie was extremely busy.  I expected that.  She was still the infield coach at Flintheart, now trying to find a new first base person, and she was second string second base at T.R.U.S.T.  Tina was not strong enough.  She wanted more time with her son, Clay, not less time.

But then, Josie said, “Mommie Pinkie, I am sort of seeing someone.  And Coach Evers at T.R.U.S.T. is giving me a shot at being the catcher in the bullpen.  So, I have school, softball, and I really don’t want anything to mess up the chance at romance.”

I was flabbergasted.  I was extremely nebby, nosey.  I usually knew before the “confession” came out.  “Have you met someone at the college, dear?” I asked.

Josie reddened, “No, Mommie Pinkie, he’s from here.  One day about ten days ago, I was at my apartment door.  I put my books down and I reached into my purse for my keys.  Daniel is always ready to escape.  So, my books went flying in one direction and my purse went flying in another direction.  And I started after Daniel as he was laughing.  He loves being chased.  Well, this new guy was in the hallway.  I never met him before, so he caught Daniel.  He was really good with him, a natural father figure, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, we talked.  And I invited him to our apartment to have a little supper.  And we hit it off.  He’s from Kentucky, and he’s going to T.R.U.S.T.”

I asked, “And the ankle bracelet did not give you a clue that he might not be trustworthy?”

Josie smiled, “Daniel has stranger danger with just about everybody, but he likes Jethro.  Jethro assured me that the bracelet comes off when the people who gave him his scholarship are convinced that he isn’t going to run off back to Kentucky.  And he said he was a McCoy, but he had never killed anyone, not even a Hatfield.  But he did tell me that Hatfield was a four-letter word in his family.  He didn’t say why.”

I gasped, “I had never made that connection.  It’s the feud between the Hatfield’s and the McCoys.  How silly of me to not think of that.  But the feud has been over for more than a hundred years.”

Josie shrugged, “I guess the feud being over and them liking each other are two different things.  Mommie Pinkie, we have not been intimate.  He just comes to my apartment to play with Daniel.  It gives me time to get my homework done.”

I sighed, “He gets free evening meals, Josie.  He should not be having his evening meals with you.  Julia was wondering why he did not eat a free meal when one was offered.  I am surprised, though.  You said you were done with men, and Daniel was your only true love.”

Josie said, “Yeah, but Daniel will be two next month and I have my hands full with school.  I hope Jethro can get permission to come to the games.  Why is he restricted to the classroom and here?”

I groaned, “He hasn’t told you?  He hacked into a top-secret government database, and the government thought it better to give him an education and teach them how to make their security better than to put him in prison.  It was a cybercrime, nothing violent, but it was a crime.”

Josie smiled, “I thought something worse than that since he would not talk about it, but he assured me that it was not anything violent.  He just made a mistake that he did not know was illegal.”

I smiled, “Okay, Josie.  I understand.  I guess that Zuzka and I will have to do something…”

Then the door burst open, and Mitzi entered the room.  “Hi, everyone, Wilma said there was a meeting that I should be attending.  I guess I’m late.  Sorry!”

I cleared my throat, “There’s been a bit of a misunderstanding.  This is only for residents.”

Mitzi said, “But I’m a …  Oops.  I guess I better leave before I get into trouble.”

Julia burst into the room.  “I’m sorry, Mommie Pinkie, Mitzi slipped past me.”

I smiled, “That’s alright, Julia.  Stay for a moment or two.  Mitzi almost let something slip.  Julia, you have been wondering about the shadows in the hallway near Wilma’s apartment, and Mitzi almost said something.”

Mitzi started bowing, curtseying, trying to back out of the room.  “Sorry, Mommie Pinkie.  I’ll move out.  It was just something that Wilma and I dreamed up.  I’ve been slipping in late at night and spending the night with Wilma.  We are not lovers.  We just want the kind of friendship that B.B. and Stinker have.  We are their B Team replacements on the Turtle, and we see how B.B. and Stinker finish each other’s sentences.  But Wilma and I often get in each other’s way.  We thought if we shared an apartment for a while, we would learn each other’s idiosyncrasies.  It’s slow, but it seems to be working.  And I used to be so jealous of Wilma, but now I see some of her weaknesses.  I help her.  She helps me.  Please, I’ll pay extra for her rent.”

I laughed, “Fitzi Mitzi, do not have a fit.  Do not move out.  If you and Wilma want to make it permanent, I can move you to a two-bedroom apartment.  Are you sharing a bed?”

Mitzi turned even redder, “No!  I sleep on the couch and Wilma lets me have the bed a couple of nights each week.  The couch is very comfortable.”

I explained what the meeting was about, but I had not heard Mitzi say anything about being a Christian, other than she went to church.

Mitzi said, “Well, a week or two ago, I rededicated my life to Christ.  I had become a Christian while I was sleeping with my boyfriend.  I didn’t think that to be terribly bad since we were going to be married, but he dumped me.  Then, I realized how bad it was.  It made the betrayal that much worse.  Yes, I will give this a try.  He thinks that girls are just an object to abuse, and I will not have that on my watch.  He’s been at this for years, so this might take some time.  Where will he be staying?”

I said, “We will have Jethro and Baldwyn sharing an apartment.  We’ve had a kitchenette installed in each of the bedrooms, and then they will share a study room.  Both of them are restricted.  No television.  No cellphone.  No computer.  Jethro knows he gets in deep trouble if he gets on the dark web, and we know what Baldwyn would do.  Thus, they have their own little rooms, but a large living room with common area for both to study and maybe become friends.  Neither of them have ever shown any signs of being violent.  We’ll have video cameras in appropriate places with alerts if they start roaming the halls at night.  Odd, this is the kind of security we had when this was a brothel, to prevent unpaid naughty behavior or to prevent the ladies from escaping.  We have protocols that can handle the situation, without the shallow graves in the country somewhere, allegedly, but Baldwyn still refuses to confess.  That is Baldwyn Apple to avoid confusion.”

The next day, Brooke walked in with her brother, ahead of schedule.  The parents must have heard that I was willing to take him in to attempt reform, and they immediately kicked him out rather than waiting for his birthday.  Mitzi had wanted to spend the promised two weeks with Zuzka and get ideas.  The living room, where Zuzka taught Otto, was now my waiting room for open door.  Mitzi opted to have her meetings in Zuzka’s waiting room.  Zuzka had a greenhouse built inside the greenhouse known as the Crystal mountain, just as an office.  The waiting room was supposed to be Rota’s office, but Rota turned her old postage-stamp sized efficiency apartment into her office, since she was responsible for apartment availability.  She could move to Zuzka’s waiting room if she ran out of space totally.

A sullen Baldwyn entered the waiting room and sat down without speaking.  Brooke waved a hand and walked away.

Mitzi said, “Good morning, I am Mitzi.  I have been assigned as your teacher.  You have been given an apartment here under probation.  You must comply or you will lose that privilege.  I would like for you to at least say something as a greeting and give me your name.”

Baldwyn said, “What is <bleeping> good about this morning?  My parents kicked me out.  My phone was taken away.  My computer was taken away.  I have a suitcase with clothes and a few necessities, like a razor and toothbrush.  I am in a tiny jail cell, and you say Good Morning.”

Mitzi said in a deadpan voice, “I said a greeting of some kind and your name.  If you do not comply, there will be consequences.”

Baldwyn sneered, “What kind of consequences?”

Zuzka said from her office, “I take him to volleyball court and pelt him with spikes.  I need practice.  Now that Olu Kulteni is over six months old, I want to start competing again.  But if he think I joke, we have guards with tasers.  But if he lose control of body functions, he have to pay for cleaning.”

Baldwyn waved a hand, “Okay, hello, my name is Baldwyn.”

Mitzi said, “I will call you Baldy.”

Baldwyn said, “But I am not bald.  And that is not short for Baldwyn.  It’s the same number of syllables.”

Mitzi said, “Everyone, or most people, in this place have been hurt by someone named Baldwyn; you will want a different name.  Trust me.”

At that point, Zuzka answered her phone and started arguing with a contractor who was behind schedule on the instructional kitchen at the PLAYhouse.  Thomas ver Waarloosd had already signed up as the first student, along with a few others.

Mitzi was halfway paying attention to the conversation since she wanted the safety valve of the experienced Zuzka when talking to “Baldy”.

Zuzka then shouted, “You listen!  You not extend!  You not make change!  You not be late!  No punchies!  I have friend take class.  You want more work at playhouse!  You do!  I say!”  Zuzka looked at Mitzi, “He say he not understand accent.  Mitzi, you help!  When I get angry.  I forget grammar.”

Mitzi took the phone.  “This is Mitzi.  Zuzka said that you will not extend.  You will not get a change order.  No extra money.  No being late.  What are punchies?”  Zuzka showed her the inspection form.  “Okay, no punchlist items.” There was a pause. “Okay, you have a contract.  You have drawings.  You have an operational specification.  Do not get sloppy with anything like that and get your head out from between your legs and think how you would have that kitchen if it was in your home.  If you want more work, do as Zuzka says.”

There was another pause.  “My name is Mitzi.  I am a junior at T.R.U.S.T.  I am working in the adjacent office to Zuzka Yeggs.  She is one of the lead project managers for the South Campus construction.”  A pause.  “Have you ever heard of the Storm Chasing Channel?  I am Fitzi Mitzi.  That’s why my voice might be familiar to you.”  Another pause.  “Ugh!  Okay.  I’m Fitzi Mitzi, 91 on your FM dial!  Are you satisfied?  Now, get the job finished!  The friend of Zuzka’s is a friend of mine!”  Mitzi hung up and explained that he had to know for sure that she was THE Fitzi Mitzi.

When Mitzi got back to her chair, Baldwyn said, “Are you a television personality?”

Mitzi shrugged, “In a way.  It’s a streaming service.”

Baldwyn asked, “Have you ever done any movies?”

Mitzi said, “No!  And I would never do anything that you would watch.”

Baldy said, “You mean porn?  That is so last week.  I don’t watch that anymore.  I have a girlfriend.”

Mitzi leaned back and gave him a dirty look, “My information says that you never go out.  You hardly ever leave your room.  No one comes in.  How do you have a girlfriend?”

Baldy said, “I made her online, and she will be angry if I do not play with her every day.”

Mitzi gasped, “Wait!  You said ‘made’, not ‘met.’  You’re talking about some kind of porn AI online doll.”

Baldy said, “Yeah.  She’s a doll alright.  She does whatever I want, not like a girl like you.”

Mitzi said, “Don’t get your hopes up.  I would not date you if you paid me.”

Zuzka said without having her gaze leave her computer screen, “Not good way to start.”

Mitzi said, “Excuse me.  The things you do are repulsive, and I would not wish to date you until you clean up your act and become a productive member of Lily the Pink.”

Baldy said, “Don’t flatter yourself.  You don’t have what it takes for me to want to waste time on you.  Now, Zuzka over there.  I’d do her.  Julia, the security person, I’d do her too.  But I met this girl, Wilma, in the hallway.  She greeted me with a smile and said hello.  I would really do her.”

Mitzi’s blood began to boil.  She was less than a woman in Baldy’s eyes.  And he had met her roommate.  All the things that Wilma had, that she had been jealous of, Baldy desired those things.

She barely had it together when she spit, “Baldy, you do not ‘do’ a girl.  We are humans just like you.  We deserve respect.  That is the first thing you need to learn. …”

Polly Pulice Handel walked into the room.  She sat next to Baldy and ran her fingers through his hair.  “I couldn’t help but overhear.  Would I be the kind of girl that you would do?”

Baldwyn brightened, “Oh, yeah, I would do you a hundred times.  You got all the things in all the right p…”  Baldwyn collapsed, hitting his head on the table as he slumped to the floor.

Polly whined, “I hate it when they do that.  I see blood in his hair.  That’s going to need to be fixed.”

Mitzi made a phone call.  While they waited, Polly explained that Baldwyn would be out for thirty minutes.  She had come by to ask Pink Lady something, and Julia asked if Polly could be the hidden security for the meeting with Baldwyn.  By the time she had explained why she was there, Hannah Bandana was there with an electric razor.

Mitzi said, “When he fell, he hit his head.  So, be careful.  As we discussed earlier, only his head, leave the eyebrows and eyelashes.  I already have a pink skull cap.”

Polly went back to her hiding place.  Hannah Bandana finished shaving Baldy’s head, and then she left, laughing.  Zuzka just shook her head.  Mitzi placed a bandage on the spot where there was a trickle of blood.  And she covered his head with the skull cap.  Zuzka helped Mitzi pick Baldy up and place him in his chair, with his upper body on the table.  Like clockwork, thirty minutes after he “went to sleep”, he woke up.

Baldy said, “What happened? Where is the delicious dish that said she wanted me?”

Mitzi laughed, “She did not say she wanted you.  She asked if you wanted her.  Forget her, Baldy, she’s taken.  Didn’t you see her gaudy diamond ring?”

Baldy fumed, “Married women want me as much as unmarried women.  They are all the same, except you.  And do not call me Baldy.  I have a full head of hair.”  He reached up and touched the cap.  “What?  Who put a cap on my head?”  He looked at the cap after he pulled it off.  “It’s pink.  I do not wear pink!”

Mitzi continued to laugh.  Zuzka was laughing by now.  Mitzi said, “You work at Lily the Pink.  Pink!  Get it!  All the ladies who work here wear pink coveralls, or they have something pink in what they wear.  Mommie Pinkie just has pink hair.  Zuzka is Pink’s daughter-in-law and she wears a pink scarf.  You will see a lot of pink.  Get used to it.  And what were you saying about having a full head of hair?”

Baldy reached up and felt his shaved head.  “What did you do to me, you <bleep>!”

Zuzka said, “We have swear jar policy.  He say two naughty words.  That is ten dollars, but Baldy have no money.  He have to get to work.”

Baldy said, “I’m not working here. I’m leaving.  Mom and Dad were just joking.  They’ll let me come home.”

Mitzi showed Baldy the auto insurance policy.  “Baldy, here is the automobile insurance for your family.  Are you listed anywhere?  And notice the effective date – last month.”

Baldy snarled, “That doesn’t mean anything.  I haven’t driven since I got out of high school.”

Mitzi smiled, “Zuzka, would you please call Baldy’s cellphone number and put it on speaker?”

Zuzka’s cellphone said, “The number you have dialed is not a valid number.”

Mitzi purred, “Baldy, you are here unless you screw up really bad.  There is no home to go back to.  Mommy and Daddy are mad.  You will be twenty-one in a couple of weeks.  No job skills.  No personality other than toadish.  No prospects.  But we are offering you a lifeline.  You will not swear or cuss.  You will be polite to everyone here.  If they are not wearing anything pink and in the Crystal Mountain, they are either a guest, or they are family.  Be very nice to them.  There is no cellphone, television, computer, etc. in your room.  Your AI girlfriend will find another boy to play with.  If you are caught sneaking into another room to do nasty things, there will be serious consequences.  You will work five days a week.  You will wear pink coveralls.  You can wear your cap to cover your bald head or let your shiny dome let everyone know you are entering the room.  You will always be to work on time.  There is a speaker in your room, and you and Jethro will be awakened by an alarm.  You will report to Jim Kaiser, but he will assign you to Darrell Driver or Blake Williams, depending on who needs the help.”

Baldy snarled, “What if I do not want to?”

Polly walked in.  She flipped her shield for Baldy to see.  “Polly Pulice police officer.  Oops, Polly Handel police officer.  Phew!  Nobody tells Randy that slip of the tongue!  We rarely arrest someone on vagrancy charges, but if you don’t do as Mitzi says, I will put you to sleep again, and when you wake up, you’ll be in jail.  Got it?”

Baldy swallowed hard, “Got it.  So, other than staying out of jail, do I have any incentive to do all this?”

Mitzi smiled, “More requirements.  You go to vespers every night and you sit by me, unless we do not get there early enough for a seat.  I think one of your jobs will be setting up for vespers.  If you are sneaky, you can put a reserved sign on two chairs.  When I am out storm chasing, you sit with B.B.  You will also go to Stinker’s Sunday school class.  It’s a couples class and I need my plus one.  And we will then go to church.  But if you do all that, when we meet next week right here, I will give you a kiss on the lips.  Just lips, no longer than one Mississippi.  I know.  I am not your kind of girl, but if my guess is right, you may have never had a girl give you the time of day.  After you become a polite, productive member of the Lily the Pink staff, some restrictions might be removed.  Now to prove that I can touch you without getting sick, you hurt yourself when you fell asleep suddenly.  I will kiss your bobo.”

She walked around the table and kissed him next to his bandage.

Blake popped into the room carrying his toolbox.  “Mitzi, where is my kiss?”

Mitzi huffed, “Blake, you are married, and you have a darling little newborn.  How is Caeleb doing?”

Blake said, “He’s sleeping through the night already, most nights.  He is growing.  But, I got permission from Penny to have all the female Turtle-eers to kiss me on the cheek.  I have gotten kisses from Home Wrecker, B.B., Stinker, Amazon, and even Fireball.  But I need Hoople and you.”

Mitzi kissed him on the cheek.  “Great!  I beat Wilma at something.  Wait until I see her later.  I guess you are here to give Baldy his indoctrination.”

Blake laughed, “No, that starts Monday with Amazon giving him a full day of safety training.  Then Tuesday, Tammie gets all the paperwork done and goes through the company rules.  Does he cuss?”

Zuzka snickered, “He owes jar ten dollars.”

Blake smiled, “I thought it would be more.  But no, today he follows me around and carries my toolbox.”  Blake handed Baldy his toolbox.  The toolbox was too heavy.  It hit the floor, and Baldy went with it.

Mitzi said, “If he keeps doing that, we are going to run out of bandages.”

Blake, who had no problem carrying the toolbox, took two heavy pipe wrenches out of the toolbox, “Now try.  You do not get paid to workout in the gym, but you and I will go there after work.  For now, Chloe is complaining that her toilet flushes once each hour.  She thinks she is plagued by ghosts, but I think it’s a leaking flapper.  Baldy.  You will be polite.  You will be attentive.  When I show you how, then you will do the work.  Got it?”

Baldy had his hands full with a heavy toolbox.  All he had the strength to do was nod.

Over the next two weeks, he was lifting the toolbox with less effort.  He was being polite, but a little standoffish.  And he even made a suggestion to Jim Kaiser that was accepted regarding wedding set up.  They would have something like a disco ball over the spot where the wedding vows were made, and strings of lights would then make a tent of light over the wedding party.  And with a winch from above, they could lower the strings of lights to decorate the strings for different color arrangements.  Or they could remove the strings for water polo, once that was back in season.  And why did he make the suggestion?  He was the one who set up the chairs daily for vespers and for weddings when they were scheduled.  And he had to do the decorations.  What do they say about inventors being lazy people trying to find an easier way to do something?

One day, as they were trying out what Baldy had suggested, Baldy heard a voice behind him.  He turned around and a lovely, possibly middle-aged woman, was looking at him.  He recognized her, but she was older than the woman he was thinking about, and she was wearing glasses.  She was not wearing pink, so he asked, “Ma’am, you look vaguely familiar.  Do you have a daughter?”

Babs Bounty smiled, “No, I wasted those years being single.  I am getting married in about a month, and I was told you do the decorating.”

Baldy smiled, “Too bad about not having a daughter.  I loved her from afar.  I guess that’s the way you might say it, but yes, this ball is hooked up to a winch that comes down from the ceiling.  I decorate each swag of lights and then we crank up the ball so it looks like a tent overhead.  Are you the bride for the Shrove Tuesday wedding?”  Babs smiled eagerly and nodded.  “I had to ask, but they said that purple, gold, and green were Mardi Gras colors, and we would have those colors all over the place.  I’m going to string the lights with Mardi Gras beads.”

Babs laughed, “That sounds great, Baldy.  Umm.  Do you mind being called Baldy?”

Baldy removed his skull cap.  “No ma’am, I’m used to it.”

Babs asked, “Do you still love that girl from afar, as you said?”

Baldy said, “Oh, I think she might be the most beautiful woman I ever saw, but I am over that now.  I found a girl right here.  She does not love me, but she wants the best for me.  And I am doing my best because her love is all I want.”

Babs smiled, “I hope you succeed in your quest.  It took me a while, but I found love, in God and in my man.  I will pray you succeed in your quest.”

Babs thanked him and walked away.  That was close.  He recognized the young Babs who made porn movies, but he did not realize how old those films were.  She had been warned that this worker had been addicted to porn, and Mitzi was trying to teach him to be productive.  Would he win Mitzi’s heart?  Time would tell.

Credits

This story is about my longest so far, still in the range of a short story (about two thousand words more and it would be a novelette), but I do not think I have any Credits.