No, Muffin, a little flattery never hurts.

Thank you for the nudge(s).
This week is going to be a very short breather for me in RL and then it's back to insanity until the first part of March. I wanted to use my free time to work on Shoe (because wanting almost always makes it so.

). Would it be terrible of me to post part 9 and then make you all wait another couple (or few) weeks until the last part? Or does piecing it out like that dilute any coherency the story might still have?
You're absolutely right, Lynn. I count my blessings every day that I'm still employed. And then I add a few more thanks that it's doing something I mostly enjoy.
Michael, Michael, Michael. <shakes head slowly> Have you looked into how much a new muse will cost? We could have a bake sale to help out!