He took a deep breath and looked at the floor for a moment, then spoke again. “Most of you know who I am and why I'm here. My wife, Marian, died of kidney failure just before Christmas. It was nobody's fault, especially not hers, but she left me alone with our thirteen-year-old daughter Annie, and I'm having a hard time with her.”
Gary shifted in his chair. “I've tried to get Annie to come here with me, but she just won't.
...
Gary looked at the floor and sighed deeply. “Two lunch dates and one kiss isn't all that much, Ronnette, but I'm willing to go public if you are.
Well, Terry, you know me, so of course I've got to commiserate with the thirteen-year-old daughter. She lost her mother at thirteen (or maybe even at twelve), and now, not even a year later, her father is already looking for another woman. Another woman who may become the girl's stepmother.
And no, there was absolutely nothing to suggest that Ronnette might become anything like an
evil stepmother. But for all of that... I don't know why the girl won't come with her father to these sessions, but maybe she just won't tell anyone that she fears losing her father as well as her mother, and that she fears getting a woman who isn't even her mother trying to run her life.
(Ah, well, I'll take every chance to commiserate with girls, won't I, Terry? Anyway, if Ronnette listened to Dr. Friskin, she won't become Annie's stepmother for some time yet.)
The next girl I feel so sorry for here is Rebecca Connors. Sweet, gifted and naïve, and about to become shark food, right? Unless the eardrum-piercing wolf whistling that Uncle Mike taught her might somehow save her life. Let's hope it does.
I've certainly never been so frightened of Nigel St. John before, which does not necessarily say a lot since I'm not exactly looking for stories with horrible villains. Anyway, the "danger vibes" he exuded were palpable. Another person who became "more" than he has ever been before, at least to my knowledge, was Uncle Mike. Great job, Terry.
Can't help reflecting on what Alcyone said:
The comments on Claude make me think this will veer into a non-canon direction. At least I know she won't be naive if they do get into some sort of sordid relationship.
Would Lois get into a relationship with Claude
even though she knows that he is a creep? Just because some part of her might find him a sexy creep? "My" Lois absolutely wouldn't, but of course there are other Loises than mine. And there definitely
are women who knowingly and willingly get into relationship with the "baddest" guys they can find. According to a colleague of mine who is very much into Darwinism and evolution, women who choose dangerous, unreliable and/or criminal men do so because they are attracted to the raw power that they sense in these men. Men who steal, rape, murder and walk all over other people gain power by doing so. The women who fall for these men want a share of these men's power. And, according the theory of evolution (or so my colleague says anyway), many of these women hope to get a son by one of these men, because if she is lucky her son will be a dangerous, devious and criminal person just like his father, and that way he will be powerful. And, importantly, her son will probably get to impregnate a lot of women and give his mother a lot of grandchildren. Talk about sordid, eh?
So that's why I hope that Lois will never knowingly get into a relationship with someone she
knows to be dangerous, deceitful and criminal. But like I said, it's not as if I own Lois....
I have to echo Hasini, too:
Youknow, most authors just TELL us how effective Lois's interviewing methods are, but you actually showed it to us, blow-by-blow in a very impressive way! Most writers show Lois who specializes in going for the throat and someone who doesn't do subtle very well. But she MUST be crafty and insiduous sometimes, otherwise she wouldn't get so many scoops. I really like the way she conducted the interview here. Most impressive.
Exactly! Most impressive, Terry.
Ann