I slept for two hours on the couch with Quentin and Mangus curled up next to me. Quentin's long, fine white hair clung to my pale blue pajamas, but I didn’t bother to wipe it off. I sat up and pulled my hair away of my face. The late morning sun was slanting through the windows onto the hardwood floor, permeating the apartment with bright heat. Dust swirled in the yellow light, and I traced the path of a cat hair caught in the movement of the air. It drifted out of the sunlight and disappeared just as it would have passed in front of the TV. My eyes refocused, and I saw the martial arts tapes Master H had given me.

The situation rushed back to me, but I still felt the need to e-mail Tyler. These emotions would not just go away, and I was much too attracted to him to let it all end now. My whole body hurt, but I stood and shuffled to my desk to write an e-mail.

Hi there, Tyler.

Guess what? I got sick last night and am home today. I’m not sure what it was. I was feeling terrible. I haven’t been home sick in years. It felt like I had food poisoning. Anyway, here I am home alone.

Married! Just what I had imagined…not at all, actually. I know e-mail is innocent and all, but…not that innocent. I figured maybe you had a girlfriend. After the e-mail when you said that you were sorry for some of the things you had said (being too forward), I kind of figured something was up.

I’m not mad at you. I am attracted to you also, and I couldn’t help myself, either. Yes, your e-mail did get my attention. Since you had given me your personal e-mail, I never assumed you were married. I would guess that your wife might see your e-mail, and that would get you in some big trouble. I suppose you are not 100 percent satisfied with married life. It has its good points. Do you feel like you cheated? Probably not. Thank you for letting me know, and maybe in my next e-mail, I will tell you some things about my situation so you don’t feel so bad. I’m not married, just to let you know.

I have to go because I am starting to feel sick again. Oh well. Goodbye for now, karate clown.

Talk to you later,

Lori