“So what happened?”

“There was just one catch. Jess and Sal have a teenage daughter McKenzie and her dad was worried because she’d dropped out of school and was doing drugs. He also suspected she was gay. So he comes to me of all people and asks me to talk to her to see if I can get through to her because he’s not having any luck. He wants me to see if I can help her to get off the drugs and to go back to school and hopefully convince her that she wasn’t gay but just going through a phase. So here I am having an affair with the mother, getting into a business arrangement with the dad, and having to babysit the daughter.”

“Sounds like a lot of juggling.”

“It was and it gets worse. This kid develops a teenaged crush on me. She insists that she is gay, and it’s not a phase and she’s in love with me. For once I do the right thing Bette. I tell her that it’s just a crush and she’s too young for me. I tell her I can’t get involved with her. She keeps insisting and she won’t let it go, so I tell her that there is someone else that I love. Then she comes back with how come she never sees me with anyone. I can’t tell she sees her all the time with me, because it’s her mother. Anyway she gets pissed at me, and like any teenager throws a tantrum when she doesn’t get her way. She decides to hurt me by telling a lie. She told her parents that I made a pass at her. Her dad is livid because he trusted me to help his daughter and her mom is furious because she is jealous that I made a pass at her daughter when I am having an affair with her.

Everybody is mad at me; the salon deal is off, the dad threatens that if I come near his daughter I would regret it. I think he would really hurt me Bette. He was so mad that he wouldn’t even listen to my side of the story. He wouldn’t believe me that nothing happened between us. If that’s not bad enough I go to their house to see Jess. I’m desperate for her to believe me and she finally does. I’m so elated that I forget where I am and I pull her into a kiss just when McKenzie walks into the room and sees us. Now the daughter threatens to tell the dad, since she can’t stand her mother anyway. Jess breaks it off with me because she’s not willing to lose everything if Sal finds out. Bette the first time I think I’m in love and I cause all this havoc and pain not only for them but for myself. I’ve been trying to deal with it by drinking and smoking and just having random sex with even more detachment than ever before. Leigh has witnessed a lot of this. I guess she’s worried about me but you know I’ve always taken care of myself. I just need to get over it and move on.”