Even as your body betrays you, your mind denies it.

Hey! Shouts Camel. There ain't no woman in the world worth two bottles of whiskey!

Afterward, I curl around her. We lie in silence until darkness falls, and then, haltingly, she begins to talk...She speaks without need or even room for response, so I simply hold her and stroke her hair. She talks of the pain, grief, and horror of the past four years; of learning to cope with being the wife of a man so violent and unpredictable his touch made her skin crawl and of thinking, until quite recently, that she'd finally managed to do that. And then, finally, of how my appearance had forced her to realize she hadn't learned to cope at all.

You do right by me, I'll show you a life most suckers can't even dream of.

The thought has cheered me, and I'd like to hang onto that. Must protect my little pockets of happiness.

Sometimes I think if I had to choose between an ear of corn or making love to a woman, I'd choose the corn.

All right. Let's give you something to tell your grandkids about. Or great-grandkids. Or great-great-grandkids." I snort with glee, delirious with excitement. Charlie winks and pours me another finger's worth of whiskey. Then, on second thought, he tips the bottle again. I reach out and grab its neck. "Better not," I say. "Don't want to get tipsy and break a hip.