Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Thunder and Lightening Chapter 38 By Lazlo Zalezac Copyright (C) Lazlo
Zalezac, 2004

   Jerry stared out the window of the restaurant watching the sky.  The
storm that had been threatening them all day had finally broken.  It wasn't
as bad as he had predicted.  Rather than a thunderstorm, this was the kind
of storm that led to a solid soaking of the ground without creating damage.
There wasn't even any lightning.  Their tensions over the trial had
exaggerated their perception of its threat.

   Turning to face the kids, he said, "It's started to rain."

   His comment didn't spark any immediate response from the kids.  Bill
stared at his plate of fried shrimp.  Melissa continued to turn a bottle of
ketchup while staring off into space.  He decided that the idea of stopping
at a restaurant to recover from their ordeal and talk about what had
happened was not working.

   After five minutes, Bill said, "That was fucking brave of you Melissa."

   The young woman didn't respond immediately, but did stop playing with
the ketchup bottle.  Looking down at her plate, she said, "I thought she
wouldn't shoot if I was there."

   Jerry didn't know what to think of his daughter's actions.  It had been
brave for her to interpose herself between his ex-wife and him, but it had
also been foolish.  He knew that the same could be said of his actions.  He
should have told them to run away.  He said, "It was very brave of you, but
you shouldn't have exposed yourself to danger like that."

   Shrugging, Melissa didn't give forth a verbal response.  She was finding
it hard believe that her mother would have shot her for standing up for her
father.  Deep down inside, she knew the truth.  She had to face the fact
that her mother was dead and she didn't know what to think about that.  The
only thing that she did know for certain was that the men had done nothing
to deserve getting killed.

   Bill dipped a finger into the cocktail sauce and then stuck the finger
in his mouth.  The sharp horseradish didn't register on his senses.  It
seemed to him that he was numb.  He definitely knew that his brain wasn't
working correctly.  His thoughts kept returning to watching his mother
approaching with the gun and calling him a little shit.  He hadn't seen her
dead body on the ground, but his imagination provided a picture of the
scene.  It was giving him a throbbing headache.

   Bill wasn't the only one with a headache.  Rubbing her temples with the
fingers of both hands, Melissa said, "I have a headache.  Does anyone have
an aspirin?"

   When neither of the males answered her, she repeated herself with
greater irritation in her voice.  "Does anyone have an aspirin?"

   "No," answered Jerry looking out the window again at the rain.  He
wondered what word described this particular kind of rain.  It wasn't a
drizzle, downpour, or squall.  Was there even a word to describe a
consistent steady light rain?  He decided that there wasn't and then
realized that the word was shower.

   Like a boom-a-rang that always returned to where it had been launched,
Bill's mind returned to the events in front of the courthouse.  He shook
his head at the images that passed before his eyes.  Foremost among them
was the sight of Melissa stepping in front of his father.  He said, "I
can't believe you stepped in front of dad."

   Frustrated at the lack of response to her request for aspirin, Melissa
asked, "Won't anyone give me some aspirin?"

   "Do you have any in your purse?" asked Jerry knowing that if anyone
would have something for a headache it would be her.

   Embarrassed that she hadn't thought of her purse, Melissa opened it and
rummaged through it looking for something to take for her headache.  All
she found was a bottle of Midol.  Deciding that it wouldn't hurt, she shook
one into the palm of her hand and swallowed it without water.

   Watching her take the pill, Bill decided that he wanted one for his
headache.  He asked, "Could I have one, too?"

   "It's Midol," replied Melissa.

   "Ugh," said Bill.  He was quiet for a minute and then decided that it
would be better to take a Midol than live with his headache.  He said,
"I'll take one any way."

   "You'll grow breasts," said Melissa lightly.

   Knowing better than that, he replied, "You'll never see me again if I
do."

   "Why?"

   Bill attempted a grin while he answered, "I'll be too busy playing with
them."

   Melissa frowned at the bad joke, but didn't react in any other fashion
than to push a pill over to her brother.  He picked it up and reached for
his glass of iced tea.  His hand started to tremble too much to hold the
glass.  Ashamed at the betrayal of his body, he set the glass down with a
rattle before he spilled his iced tea.

   Hearing the rattle, Jerry looked over at Bill and saw the distressed
look on his face.  In a soft voice, he said, "Hey, it's okay.  Your nerves
are catching up to you."

   "I know.  It used to happen to me after fights," said Bill.  Although it
hadn't involved any punches, kicks, bites, or scratches, he felt as if he
had gone twenty rounds with a heavy weight boxer.  He slipped the pill into
his mouth and grabbed the glass with both hands.  Holding it like a
three-year-old, he tipped the glass and chased down the pill.  The thought
that he'd grow breasts almost made him laugh and choke on the tea.

   Quiet returned to the table.  Jerry looked around the table at all of
the uneaten food.  Bill hadn't eaten more then three of his fried shrimp.
Normally, Bill would have cleaned the plate of shrimp in minutes.  Melissa
hadn't touched her hamburger except to take two bites out of it.  She had
put a little more of a dent in her French Fries.  He understood their lack
of appetite since his French Dip had a single bite out of it.  Shaking his
head, he decided that coming to the restaurant had been a very bad idea.

   Fumbling in his shirt pocket, he pulled out his cell phone.  Opening it,
he tried to locate a number in the phonebook function.  As he scrolled
through the list of numbers, Melissa asked, "Are you calling Jenny?"

   "No, I'm calling the therapist," answered Jerry with a sigh.  They
weren't dealing with things very well and he couldn't think of anything
else to do.  He didn't want to see Jenny at the moment, but he didn't
understand why his mind kept shying away from the idea of talking to her.
He grunted, "I'm big enough to know that we aren't dealing with this very
well."

   Surprised by his admission, Melissa watched him make the call wishing
that he were calling Jenny.  She had to admit that calling the therapist
was the last thing that she had expected him to do.  Running to a therapist
wasn't the kind of thing that most people associated with a big strong man
like her father.  She had expected him to call Jenny and then for Jenny to
recommend that he call the therapist.  In a way, his actions impressed her
even more.  She considered what would have happened had her mother seen a
therapist.  It was quite possible that if her mother had gone to one, then
she would still be alive.

   "Too bad she didn't see a therapist," muttered Bill giving voice to her
thoughts.

   "I was just thinking the same thing," said Melissa looking at her
brother in amazement.  She was surprised that he was taking the high road
rather than rant about what a crazy woman their mother had been.

   While Jerry was on the cell phone, the waitress stopped by the table to
see how things were going.  The young woman, still a senior in high school,
had been working in the restaurant for less than a month.  She had taken
the job in an effort to earn enough money to pay for her car insurance. 
New to the job, she worked hard to make sure that her customers were happy.


   The waitress frowned at the sight of the plates full of cold food.  All
of the iced tea glasses were half-filled with diluted tea, watered down by
the melted ice.  Deciding that there was little hope of salvaging a
reasonable tip, she said, "I take it the food wasn't any good."

   Melissa looked up at the waitress and said, "We're not really hungry. 
My mother tried to kill us all today."

   "The police killed her," added Bill staring at his plate.  He thought
about how different aspects of the events mattered to each of them
differently.  Melissa was shocked by the fact that her mother was willing
to shoot her.  He was shocked that his mother was gone out of his life for
good.  He couldn't deny that he was relieved that she was gone, but the
idea that he was relieved made him feel bad about himself.

   The flat emotionless tone of voice in which the kids had delivered their
statements was far more brutal than an emotional outburst might have been.
The waitress stood at the foot of the table with a stunned expression on
her face.  She had no idea how to react to their statements; it wasn't
something that was covered in the employee manual.  Almost a minute passed
before she said, "Oh."

   Jerry closed the cell phone and announced, "She'll see us at six.  We've
got three hours to kill."

   Bill groaned at his father's choice of wording.  Melissa felt her
stomach twist at the thought of sitting in that booth for another three
hours.  Tears welled up in her eyes.  While dabbing at them with her
napkin, she said, "I want to talk to Jenny."

   Wishing that he knew how to comfort the children better, he nodded.  He
didn't want to face Jenny, but would do it for Melissa's sake.  Resigning
himself to the inevitable, he said, "I'll give her a call."

   The waitress was still standing at the end of the table trying to decide
what she was supposed to say or do.  Finally, she asked, "Would you like
your bill?"

   "Yes, that would probably be best," answered Jerry tiredly.

   Given an excuse to leave, the waitress ran away from the table.  This
had been the most upsetting experience of her life.  She couldn't imagine
how those two kids felt.  All she knew was that she wanted to get home and
hold onto her mother.  Rather than get their check, she left the restaurant
crying.  As the door closed behind her, she decided that there had to be
another way to earn enough money.

   Confused by her actions, the manager of the restaurant watched the
waitress leave.  It was obvious that she was upset and that the party
seated in the corner had upset her.  During the short time that she had
worked at the restaurant she had been a very good employee.  She showed up
on time, was friendly with the customers, and took care of her tables. 
Although he believed that the customer deserved the best service possible,
he knew there were some customers who were abusive.  He looked at the
family and headed over to find out what they had said to her.

   Jerry was on the cell phone talking to Jenny when the manager arrived at
the table.  Frowning, he looked at the long faces and the plates full of
cold food.  His anger evaporated to be replaced by puzzlement.

   Bill looked up at the manager and then looked out the window.  In a soft
voice, he asked, "Why is it that bad things always seem to happen to me
before a storm?"

   The indifference of the young man to his presence and the awkward
question confused the manager.  The manager stood at the end of the table
for a half a minute wondering if anyone would notice him.  He cleared his
throat.

   Bill looked back at the manager, not expecting an answer to his
question. He saw that Melissa was wiping her face with her napkin.  Bill
put his arm around her and pulled her to him.  Surprised by the unexpected
gesture of caring, she twisted so that her face was against his shoulder
and burst into tears.  Feeling awkward, Bill held his sister allowing her
to cry herself out.

   Jerry noticed the activity across the table and quickly finished his
conversation with Jenny.  That Bill would reach out to comfort his sister
was a major leap forward in relations between the siblings.  Separated from
them by the table, he realized how bad a mistake it was to come to the
restaurant.  He slipped the cell phone into his pocket and watched them
afraid to say anything to ruin the moment.

   The manager cleared his throat and said, "Excuse me, but is there a
problem here?"

   Jerry stared at the man for a minute trying to figure out how to answer
his question.  There were lots of problems.  His ex-wife had tried to kill
him and the kids.  They knew that she had been killed.  The kids were upset
and he didn't know how to comfort them.  He was terrified of seeing his
girlfriend.  There was also a bright spot in the midst of all this misery.
A real gesture of peace had occurred between the kids.  He answered, "Yes,
but it isn't a problem that you can solve."

   "What did you tell the waitress that caused her to run out of here in
tears?" asked the manager with much more politeness than he had intended
prior to seeing them around the table.

   "She wasn't crying when she left to get the bill," answered Jerry
confused by the assertion that they had done something to the young woman.
He glanced at Melissa and Bill, but she was still crying on her brother's
chest.  Bill was looking over her head with an embarrassed expression on
his face.

   "Well, she was crying when she passed by me after leaving your table,"
declared the manager.

   "I guess the kids told her that their mother tried to kill us today,"
replied Jerry.  He hadn't been paying attention to the dialog between the
kids and the waitress since he had been busy arranging an appointment with
the therapist.  He added, "We'd really like the bill now."

   The manager didn't know the story behind these three, but he wanted them
out of his establishment.  He retreated to fetch the bill.  The sooner they
were out of there, the better.  It didn't take long for Jerry to take care
of the bill.  He left a good tip despite the fact that none of them had
eaten.  He asked the manager to give the waitress their apologies if they
had done anything to upset her.

   Leaving the restaurant, Jerry held his arms around both kids pulling
them close to him to reassure them with his presence.  Bill walked along
numbly, his mind was not on the here and now.  Melissa held tight to her
father's arm as though afraid that she would fly off the planet if she let
go.  For the first time in her life, she appreciated his strength and size.


   Upon reaching Jenny's house, Melissa flew from the Camaro to the front
door.  Without knocking, she opened the door and entered the house.  Still
getting out of the car, Jerry watched her run.  He didn't know why he was
dreading talking to Jenny, but the idea of facing her terrified him. 
Turning to Bill, he said, "Let's give your sister a chance to talk with
Jenny for a while."

   "Yeah, she needs to talk to a woman," commented Bill.  Despite the
moment of closeness in the restaurant, he understood the truth.  His sister
would always seek out the comfort, opinion, and approval of women before
that of men.

   Jerry looked over at his son and smiled at the insight the boy had
demonstrated.  Despite the fact that it was still raining, he wasn't ready
to go into the house.  Putting an arm on the boy's shoulder, he said,
"Let's wait for them in the back yard."

   Shrugging his acceptance, Bill said, "Sure, why not."

   The pair walked around the house to the backyard.  Potted plants
surrounded a small patio with two folding chairs.  The plants looked dead,
but were actually in their winter hibernation.  In spring and summer, the
patio was a very nice place to sit and talk.  In the fall rain, it was the
last place they should have been.  Gesturing to one of the chairs, Jerry
said, "Have a seat."

   Bill sat down in one of the folding chairs.  He was hardly aware of the
rain as he seated himself.  He looked around the yard.  It was small, but
much better cared for than theirs.  He wondered what wonders Jenny would do
on their backyard once she married Jerry.  That thought led him to think
about his mother and what she had done around the house.  From there, his
mind returned to the events outside the courthouse.

   Jerry pulled over the heavy outdoor chair that Jenny had bought for him.
It was massive enough to take his weight without collapsing.  Sitting down,
Jerry said, "I don't think I've ever been as afraid as I was this
afternoon."

   "You were afraid?" asked Bill relieved that he wasn't the only one that
had been scared.  The fact that his sister had been brave enough to step
between his mother and father shamed him.  He felt that he should have been
the one to step up and face his mother.

   Taking a deep breath that swelled his chest and then letting it out,
Jerry tried to relax.  It was a half-minute before he answered, "Yeah.  All
I could imagine was your mother shooting you or Melissa.  The idea of
losing either one of your scared me shitless.  I was so angry, but all I
could do was stand there between you two and her."

   "Why did you stand there?" asked Bill wondering if his father had been
frozen in place out of fear.  He had expected his father to storm over and
squash his mother like a bug.  He knew that his father could have done
that.

   "If I had made a single move, she would have started shooting.  I
couldn't risk one of you getting hit," answered Jerry.  Standing in place
had been one of the hardest things that he had ever done.  He was glad that
the rage hadn't taken over.  If it had, he would have charged like a bull
at a red cape without concern for the consequences.  For all he knew, both
kids would have been killed.

   "Oh yeah.  I didn't think about it like that," answered Bill.  He
realized that he hadn't thought about anything except that his mother was
going to kill him.  He had been frozen in place staring at her the entire
time.

   Jerry looked over at Bill and said, "You were scared too."

   The young man looked away with tears in his eyes and nodded.  Jerry saw
that his son didn't trust his voice to answer.  He said, "You had every
right to be scared.  If you had done what Melissa did, she'd have killed
you in a second.  She had every intention of killing both you and me.  She
didn't want to kill Melissa until she realized that Melissa was standing up
for us."

   "I was so scared that I couldn't move," said Bill feeling like hell.

   "You didn't piss yourself.  I'd say that's better than a lot of men
would have done in your position," countered Jerry.  He kept a serious look
on his face to let his son know that he wasn't joking.  All in all, the
young man had kept his wits about him and control over himself.

   "You're kidding," replied Bill with a frown.

   "Not at all," answered Jerry.  He knew his son was feeling like a coward
and he felt that he had to justify the boy's actions so they wouldn't haunt
him for the rest of his life.  He said, "There's a lot of folks that would
have crumpled to their knees and started begging for their lives.  I don't
think you were paralyzed with fear, but you didn't give into it.  I'd say
that you showed a degree of bravery today that's mighty good for a young
man your age."

   The rain had let up a little, but they were still getting soaked.  Bill
sat in his chair wondering if his father was telling him the truth.  In the
movies, people knew what to do in that situation.  He'd felt stupid
standing there unable to think of some action to take that would resolve
the situation.  He took a deep breath and asked, "What should I have done?"

   "I'd have been a lot happier if both of you kids had run away," answered
Jerry with a weak smile.  Standing outside the courthouse, there had been
all kinds of places for the kids to run.  He sighed and said, "Ever since
then, I've been thinking that rather than telling you to stay behind me
that I should have told you to run."

   Realizing that his father was blaming himself for telling him to do the
wrong thing, Bill asked, "Why did you tell us to stay behind you?"

   Jerry gave forth a laugh of derision that sounded like a cross between a
snort and a bark.  He said, "I was thinking that I could protect you.  I
thought I could stand there like some sort of human shield.  I thought I
could stand there even if she emptied her gun into me.  Pretty fucking
stupid idea, if I say so myself."

   "I saw you get shot four times.  You could have protected us," answered
Bill.

   "No, I seriously doubt it.  Oh, I was angry and felt strong enough, but
the fact of the matter is that I was scared and angry.  I wasn't thinking
very clearly," admitted Jerry with a sigh.

   The conversation was helping Bill much more than Jerry.  His son was
coming to accept that his lack of action wasn't motivated entirely in fear.
He had followed his father's command to stay behind him and that had kept
him from fleeing.  Yet the father felt bad about having issued the command
realizing only too late that it had further endangered his children.

   After berating himself for long enough, Jerry said, "One of the problems
with being big and strong is that you start off believing that your size
and strength can be the answer to all of your problems.  After a while, you
see that, more often than not, you end up in trouble and you get to believe
that it only creates more problems."

   "So which is it?" asked Bill.  He leaned forward to catch the answer as
if it were the most important thing he was going to ever hear.

   "I'm beginning to believe that it's a balance between the two.  Being
big and strong can solve some problems, but not all of them.  When you use
your size and strength on the wrong problem, you get more problems,"
answered Jerry.  He looked over at his son and watched him process the
answer.

   "How do you know when to use your size and strength?"

   "Hell if I know.  I'm still trying to figure that one out," answered
Jerry.  He threw his hands up in the air as if surrendering.

   The back door opened and Jenny stuck her head out to look at the two
men. They were soaking wet, but seemed oblivious to their state.  She
recognized that it was a measure of how upset they were that they didn't
care about the wet or the cool chill in the air.  In a soft voice, she
asked, "Would you like to come in and have some coffee?"

   Jerry glanced down at his watch and saw that he had an hour and a half
before the appointment with the therapist.  He answered, "Sure.  We have
some time before we head over to the therapist."

   "Can I go to the therapist with you?" asked Jenny.  She had her fingers
crossed in the hope that Jerry would say that it was okay.

   "You want to go with us?" asked Jerry very surprised by the request.

   "Yes.  I'm affected by this just as much as you are.  That woman tried
to kill the three people that I love the most in this whole world.  I have
no idea what I would have done if I had lost any of you," answered Jenny.
Her voice quivered with emotion.

   The effect of her words on Bill was immediate and overwhelming.  He
stared at her feeling like she had just handed him a million dollars and
told him to have a good time.  That she loved his father was obvious.  He
never doubted her feelings for his father.  That she loved him was a shock.
He suspected that she felt that way about him, but she had never come out
and said it.  He stood up and raced over to her.  Throwing his arms around
her, he held her and cried.  Between sobs, he said, "I love you, too."

   The effect of her words on Jerry was just as staggering.  She had done
the unimaginable in admitting that the bad things that happened to him hurt
her as well.  She felt his pain, she worried about his welfare, and she
cared about him.  He felt horrible that he hadn't thought about how she
would react to his ex-wife's actions.  His voice cracked with emotion when
he told her, "We'd love to have you come with us."

   Jerry watched as Jenny hugged a very wet Bill to her and rubbed his
back. She spoke soothing words to him that were too soft for Jerry to hear.
Her words helped calm down the young man.  Seeing how his son clung to
Jenny made Jerry realize how much his son needed a good mother figure in
his life.  While Melissa had known that she needed a proper female role
model and asked to come here, the two men had been blind to their need. 
Jerry realized that they should have come here after the incident rather
than going to the restaurant.

   After Bill released Jenny, he sniffed and then ran into the house. 
Jerry watched him run away knowing that he wanted to be alone for a minute.
The young man was feeling emotions that had never had a chance to present
themselves.  Jerry felt the same way.  Emotions that he couldn't name
washed over him, leaving him speechless.  He didn't know what to say to
thank her for her words and the comfort given to Bill.

   "I understand," said Jenny giving Jerry a half smile that was both happy
and sad.  She looked at his wet clothes and wondered if he was going to get
sick before the wedding.

   "I'm not sure that I do," replied Jerry confused by her statement.

   "After years of being abused by that woman, I'm not surprised that you
didn't think of coming here," said Jenny.

   "I left her because she didn't care that I had almost been killed," said
Jerry looking down at the ground once he realized what she meant.  He
wanted to hit himself for not trusting Jenny to react in a caring manner.
He knew his earlier reluctance in seeing her originated out of the fear
that she would have reacted with the same indifference his ex-wife would
have demonstrated.

   "You were afraid that I wouldn't care," said Jenny shaking her head at
the fact that any human being could suffer that fear about someone they
loved.  She wished that she had been able to give that woman a piece of her
mind.  The damage that she had done to Jerry and Bill was almost beyond her
comprehension.

   "I'm sorry," said Jerry.

   "I understand," she replied.  She stepped forward and put her arms
around him; relaxing when his arms engulfed her with the strength that she
loved.  With her face nestled against his strong chest, she said, "I would
have been afraid of the same thing if I were you."

   "No, you would have trusted me to react the right way," countered Jerry.
He wanted to feel guilty, but it just wasn't possible for him.  Too many
years of indifference had made him doubt that anyone could really care
about what happened to him.  He knew that he would have been furious if
someone had tried to hurt Jenny, but his reaction would have been to charge
out of the house to hunt down and harm anyone that had hurt her.

   She smiled and gestured to the door with her head.  In a light voice,
she said, "Let's go inside.  It's still raining and we're getting soaked."

   Her words woke him to the fact that it was raining.  Stepping back, he
looked at her and saw that the rain had turned her white shirt transparent.
He could see her breasts through the wet material.  Her nipples stood erect
from the cold.  Smiling, he picked her up in his arms and carried her into
the house.  Rather than stopping in the living room where Melissa was
seated on the couch, he carried her into the bedroom.  Once there, he set
her down and said, "You need to change your shirt."

   She looked down and saw the effect that the water had on her shirt.  In
a delightful display of modesty, she blushed.  The modesty was short lived
as a wicked smile crossed her face.  She said, "Do you really want me to
change out of this shirt?"

   "Not really, but the ..." He stopped not knowing how to bring the
children into the conversation.  Somehow, talking about them while staring
at her breasts just didn't seem right.

   Jenny unbuttoned the white blouse and let it slip off her shoulders. 
She traced a finger around her stiff nipples drawing his attention to them.
In a sultry voice, she said, "I'm not cold now."

   Laughing at her obvious tease, Jerry asked, "What did I ever do to
deserve you?"

   "Good question.  Now get out of those wet clothes before you get sick.
I'll throw them in the dryer so they'll be dry in time to go to the
therapist."

   Jenny went to her closet and pulled out a shirt and one of her robes. 
She handed the robe to him and said, "Put this on.  We wouldn't want to
shock Melissa and Bill."

   "Bill and I walk around the house in our boxers all the time.  Melissa
is used to it," said Jerry eyeing the robe.

   "With an erection?" asked Jenny with a grin.  She could tell with just a
glance that he didn't have an erection yet, but she was sure that with just
a little effort on her part that she could cause one.

   Despite the fact that she was standing in front of him topless, Jerry
didn't have an erection.  He wasn't feeling very sexual at the moment.  Too
many contradictory emotions were packed into his body to support another
one.  It was obvious that despite her words, she wasn't really in the mood
for much more than a little light teasing.

   Jenny put on her shirt while Jerry stripped down to his boxers.  He
tried to put the robe on, but it was way too small.  With a grin, he handed
it back to her and said, "There's no way this little robe is getting put on
this body."

   Seeing how her big fluffy robe looked like a hand towel in his massive
hands, Jenny had to laugh at the ridiculous image of him wearing it.  She
said, "Boxers it is.  I'll give this to Bill to wear.  He's not quite as
big as you are."

   Jerry grinned and followed her out of the bedroom.  Bill was in the
bathroom.  Jerry knocked on the door and said, "Take off your shirt and
pants so that Jenny can dry them.  We've got a robe here for you to wear."

   Bill opened the door and accepted the robe from his father.  He looked
at the feminine robe and his father in his boxers.  Frowning, he said, "I'd
rather just wear my boxers."

   "Okay," said Jerry deciding that it wasn't worth arguing about.

   Bill stripped out of his clothes and handed them to Jerry who
immediately handed them to Jenny.  She disappeared to put them in the dryer
while the men went into the living room.  Melissa looked at them in their
boxers and rolled her eyes.  She had given up on them having a sense of
propriety about walking around in such a state of undress.

   Jerry sat down and asked, "Melissa, how are you holding up?"

   "Much better, I think," she answered.  She looked at her brother and
father sitting around in their boxers.  There was something kind of
reassuring about it.  It was the kind of behavior that was normal for them
and convinced her that things hadn't really changed for the worse.  Sure,
there were times when they were crude, rude, and disgusting, but they were
always honest in how they felt.  She decided that she'd take honest over
the pretentious any day.  In a much stronger voice, she said, "Yes.  I'm
holding up much better now."