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I was folding laundry in the dark and watching Judge Judy rip this guy a new asshole when the doorbell rang

I flipped down a pair of Oakley wrap-around sunglasses and, still holding a pair of little Anthony&039;s cotton briefs in one hand, opened the front door

The light, still painfully bright, poured in from outside I squinted behind e of a UPS deliverye it was

As s and beefy arrinned atoff a perfect rohite teeth Spiky yellow hair protruded frouy should have been a model, or at least my new best friend

"Mrs Moon?" he asked His eyes seery, and I wondered if I had stepped onto the set of a pornobell sounded inbells are tricky to discern, and I autonoring the warning bells

"I&039;ve got a package here for you"

"You don&039;t say"

"I&039;ll need for you to sign the delivery log" He held up an electronic giz

"I&039;m sure you do," I said, and opened the screen door and stuck a hand out He looked at my very pale hand, paused, and then placed the electronic thing-a- a plastic-tipped pen, nature appeared in the display box as an arthritic h the screen door I don&039;t like to be watched intently In fact, I prefer to be ignored and forgotten

"Do you alear sunglasses indoors?" he asked casually, but I sensed his hidden question: And what sort of freak are you?

"Only during the day I find theain and exchanged the log doohickey for a sood day"

He nodded and left, and I watched his cute little buns for a er, and then shut the solid oak door completely Sweet darkness returned to lasses and sat down in a particularly worn dining roos re-upholstered

The package was heavily taped, but a few deft strokes of my painted red nail took care of all that I opened the lid and peered inside Shining inside was an ancient golden raved across the face of it, and embedded within the cross, formed by precisely cut rubies, were three red roses

In the living roo to the defendant what an idiot he was Although I agreed, I turned the TV off, deciding that this medallion needed my full concentration

After all, it was the same medallion worn by my attacker six years earlier

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There was no return address and no note Other than theartifact in the box and shut the lid Seeing it again brought back so et

I put the box in a cabinet beneath the china hutch, and then went back to Judge Judy and putting away the laundry At 3:30 p a hat and carefully stepped outside

The pain, as always, was intense and searing Hell, I could have been cooking over an open fire pit Truly, I had no business being out in the sun, but I had my kids to pick up, dammit

So I hurried froarage My dreae But, for now, I had to e and out of the direct glare of the spring sun, I could breathe again I could also s flesh

Blech!

Luckily, the Ford Windstar minivan was heavily tinted, and so when I backed up and put the thing into drive, I was doing okay again Granted, not great, but okay