Chapter 7 Sister Act
“It's so unfair, Bella! Kelly made Jo St Leon team leader for the charity function at the Yacht Club, even after the near disaster she caused for the New Globe fundraiser! I've been working crazy hours helping Kelly on this. I’ve gotten people to donate for the catering, drinks, flowers for the tables…not to mention the raffles prizes. The whole event won’t cost the charity or the firm a cent! Everything they make will be profit and it’s all my doing! Jann Scott and even I designed the invitations and menus. She made sure the menus displayed Donne Herbert and Vaughan's logo prominently but discreetly. I've already written all the thank you letters. I've made sure that all the donors have gotten some publicity for their donations. I've worked
so hard! And then she makes St Leon the team leader!”
“But you liked doing it, Bethany,” replied my sister patiently. “You said so yourself. For the last three weeks you've been coming home late every night, happy and excited. You were thrilled to be part of it. You didn't need any coffee. You were hyped up already.” She looked at me. “You were so full of life, ready to party every weekend.”
“Bella, she stomped all over me. St Leon…team leader! St Leon…who thrashed me in the ladies room. St Leon…whose clique made me do all their hard work!” I got louder each time I repeated the bitch’s name. “St Leon…who screwed up the New Globe fund-raiser!”
“Bethany, you're yelling! Calm down.”
“What if I am? It was bad enough when Kelly let St Leon take over the marketing for Peter Balfour's and Vic's business. She used
my ideas and took the credit! But to make her a team leader…” I bit my tongue. I was
not going to cry. “We all have to go to the Sailing Club. We’re all ’wait staff’…Kelly volunteered us. St Leon will gloat. She knows how much this meant to me!” I sighed. “I so wanted to impress Kelly. I put my best efforts into everything I’ve done for her. It was so good just to be working with Kelly…and now she chooses St Leon over me. St Leon…who didn't do any of the work!”
“So life's unfair. Don't get upset…get even. Keep showing them just how good you are at your job.”
“I do! Over and over again! That bitch St Leon knows how well I do my job. That’s why she made me fix all her cronies’ work problems. Kelly set me up for that! She chewed me out. I’m so loyal to her, and that’s the thanks I get!”
“Bethany, you're forgetting two things,” said Bella. “First, you fought Kelly. She beat you and she cut you some slack. She gave you some time off work to recover. Second, you seduced her boyfriend…not once but twice. You had a one night stand with Peter after the fight and then, after Kelly was good enough to give you his work, you had an affair with him for a couple weeks. You call that loyalty?”
”You’re so hard on me!” I felt my eyes water. “You’re so unkind!” Any moment now and I’d sob. I didn’t want that to happen. “Yes, she beat me but the whole fight was a mistake and she knew it. She knew it was really her fault. She apologized by giving me the time off to recover. The second time,” I blew my nose, “I didn‘t know Peter Balfour was her boyfriend. Kelly should have told me…” My voice trailed off as I saw my sister’s face. She knew I wasn’t really telling the truth, and so did I. I should have guessed Peter was Kelly’s guy. Looking back, it was pretty obvious.
I had to placate my sister. “I’m so grateful to you for standing up for me when you did, that night…that horrid night when I found out.” I wanted to hug Isabella or curl up on her lap like I did when I was little. I used to feel safe and protected. But right then in the kitchen of the apartment we shared, she was giving me her ‘angry big sister’ look. As I so often did when I was upset or flustered – and right then I was both – I babbled on. “But St Leon screwed Peter too! She even bragged about it…said how good a fuck he was. The whole office knows…and they know that Peter is Kelly’s man. St Leon got away with it though! Kelly never got mad at her like she did at me. I mean…I respect Kelly – ”
“No, you don’t respect her,” Bella cut in, “and nor should you. She doesn’t respect you. She feels you’re some sort of threat. Maybe it’s because you had a fling with her boyfriend.” I went to reply but again she cut me off. “No. St Leon and Peter had sex…once. You and he had a relationship. It may not have been a long one…it may not have been the kind you wanted…but it
was a relationship.”
Bella paused. She looked at me as though weighing up what to say next. Then she continued, “Well, maybe you
do respect Kelly but it’s not the sort of respect you feel for a partner where you work. No, it’s very different. Your problem is you’ve got a crush on Kelly Haldane. She treated you like a bad puppy…she housetrained you. You want her attention…her praise You're like some silly schoolgirl. Get over it.”
I turned red. I didn't want to admit how close my sister was to the truth – not to Bella and not even to myself. I tried to deflect the conversation. “Yes, of course I want her praise. She's my boss. I want her admiration written up in my HR file. Besides, it’s only credit where credit’s due. I did all the hard work for the event but instead, it’s St Leon who gets the credit. It’s not only me she picks on. Her gang…her harpies…they bully others too. They picked on poor Suzette Luke a few days ago. I think I stopped that. I told Alison Baur I'd beat the hell out of her if she did that again. I know she remembers how I beat her…and Maria Gomez.”
“That’s another problem,” remarked Bella. “You think you can fix things by fighting. You can't. You tried with St Leon and she beat you. Fighting isn’t the way to solve your problems. You gotta grow up, honey…be a little more mature. You'd still be marketing those relaxation CDs if you hadn't got into that fight with Wendy, or if you were brave enough to tell Kelly what had happened.” She shook her head. “And if you
are gonna fight, you gotta toughen up. You'd have the job, the CD contract, everything you want…if you'd won that fight. But no, you didn't do any of that.”
“Don't start...”
Bella cut me off yet again. “Bethany, I've had all I can take of you moping and complaining how it’s all everyone else’s fault,” she scolded me. “I'm meeting Stephen at Emily's bar in an hour. If you want to come too, you can…so long as you get that chip off your shoulder.”
I sighed, trying to think of something to say but again my sister was right. The best thing for me was a night out. I’d forget my troubles for a while.
Emily only opened on Friday and Saturday nights at this time of year, and there weren’t many people in the bar. That was only to be expected – who goes to a beach bar in winter? She was pleased to see us.
We ordered some food and a bottle of red wine and waited till Stephen got there. He was almost dating Bella. It was more than ‘hanging out with’ her but they weren’t yet a couple. I guess that’s why Bella asked me along. It wouldn’t look as if she was just going out ‘with’ Stephen. I hated all this hanging out business. Boys – men – were way too casual. They didn’t want commitment. I couldn’t understand Stephen. Isabella was as wonderful as she was beautiful . She was tall but – at five feet eight – not as tall as me. Though slim, she was definitely feminine with a well developed bust, hips and butt. She had beautiful ivory coloured skin – like me, she burnt easily. More than her physical appearance though, she was kind, considerate and affectionate. She went out of her way to help others. She stood up for those who were in trouble. Maybe most important, she was wise. I’d do much better if I took her advice more often.
Stephen arrived and after some social chit chat, I looked for a chance to leave him and Bella to themselves. Two’s company, three’s a crowd. I pardoned myself and went to the bathroom. Walking past the bar on my way back, I was stopped by an older man – I guess he’d have been close to forty. “Haven’t I seen you before?” he asked.
I almost laughed at the ancient pickup line until Emily interrupted, “Yes Stu, you have. Bethany’s a regular here.” She smiled at me. “Beth, meet Stewart James…actor, mentor to many young actresses…and other people too. He’s also a genuine gentleman, which is a rare thing. Stewart, buy the girl a drink.” He smiled and did so.
I'd noticed him when he first came in, with perhaps a dozen others – men and women. They were younger than he was and they had all wandered down to a table at the rear of the bar. They were a happy but loud bunch – so loud that it was a little hard to hear Stu talk. For about ten minutes he and I sat on stools next to the bar, chatting with each other and with Emily when she wasn’t busy with other customers. Stu was a charming guy and I quickly warmed to him.
Emily had a jazz trio who performed on Friday nights and when they struck up, Stu and I got up to dance. So did Stephen and Bella. After the music finished, I introduced Stewart to them and Bella asked him to join us. He did so. We had a few more glasses of wine and some more to eat. The conversation flowed over a range of topics. We got onto the news. Emily had a tv mounted on the wall in the back of the bar on when the jazz trio wasn’t playing. Heather West’s show was on. Stephen glanced up. “I wonder when she’ll stop trickling out titbits about the Medici affair and give us the full story.”
“That’s if there
is a full story.” Stu sounded skeptical.
“Of course there’s a story. We all know that. It’s just that Heather West hasn’t given us all the beans. This is Watergate, Chicago style. Each piece of evidence leads to another and another. We don’t know the full story. Heather West …for all her talk… probably doesn’t yet. Still, there’s something that smells bad here.”
“What are you saying?” A woman’s voice suddenly butted into the conversation.
Stu swung round in his seat. He blushed red. “Oh, hello Lucia.”
I gave the woman a quick once over. I guessed she was about five feet six, though it was difficult to tell since we were all sitting down. She had an attractive face with high cheekbones framed by short, tightly curled dark brown hair. She looked fit – I couldn’t say exactly why since she was wearing tailored black pants and a red woolen sweater that concealed whatever definition she had in her muscles. I guess it was just the way she carried herself. Fit or not, her large brown eyes flashed with anger.
“What are you doing with these people?” she snapped at Stu. “Come back and join us.”
“Excuse me – ” my sister began.
“Why?” The newcomer interrupted her. “Stu was with our group.”
“Well, maybe you could join us too.” Bella tried to calm the girl down.
Lucia wasn’t having it. “Why would I want to sit with you, when you’re talking about that muckraker, West? She’s nothing but a publicity whore!”
“There has to be muck to rake to begin with, and West has got some. Last week, one of Medici’s underlings was charged with obstruction of justice for destroying public records.”
”Nothing to do with Catherine Medici,” the woman almost snarled.
“Oh? That remains to be proven.” Bella turned to Stewart. “Maybe you could introduce your…loud…friend.” She turned back to the angry woman. “I’m Bella Beaverbrook. This is my friend Stephen Grainger, and my sister Bethany.”
”I know who
she is.” The woman glared at me. “You’re that violent bitch who drinks and fights. You smashed up Kim Curzon. Her own fault though…she picked on you.” She stifled a smirk. “Our Kim bit off more than she could chew.” She suppressed – just – a giggle. She couldn’t hide the glee in her voice. “But then you got what was coming to you, from that blonde.” She swung back to Bella. “No need for Stewart to introduce me. My name is Lucia Mirrabella.”
“Thank you Lucia. Now that you’ve introduced yourself, you might tell me how you know Stewart here.”
Stewart replied for her. “Lucia’s an actress at the New Globe Theatre – an emerging talent. She’s played a number of second leads in our recent season. And,” he added wryly, “I’m an old ham there.”
It struck me that I had seen Lucia before.
Of course she knows I fought Kim. She was there. She saw it.”Thank you Stewart.” Bella turned back to Lucia. “So maybe you can tell us all why someone on Ms Medici’s staff destroying papers…the release of which may have assisted the DA’s office in their enquiries into Ms Medici’s affairs…has nothing to do with Ms Medici. Provided of course, you calm down and do so in a polite and sensible manner…and provided also you also refrain from insulting my sister.” Bella spoke with that cold politeness which is the most effective insult I know.
“Telling things how they are, isn’t insulting.”
“True,” Bella continued in that same icy tone, “and the same applies to Ms Medici.”
”I’m speaking from knowledge. You’re speaking from rumour.”
“The rumour…if that’s what it was…has been substantiated. Didn’t you see the interview with the DA’s officers?”
“I did. The DA’s got it in for Medici. Remember how he backed another candidate at the last election? You can’t believe the DA. He’s talking crap and so are you.” Lucia turned back to Stewart and repeated, “Why are you with these people anyway? Come back and join us.”
“Maybe…just maybe…he prefers our company to yours,” Bella interjected. “Who wouldn’t? You interrupt us, you abuse my sister…you’re nothing but a loud mouth.”
”It’s riff-raff like you that are the problem. You blindly accept the garbage that would-be female Geraldo Riviera spouts. What has she come up with, so far? It will be like Riviera’s expose of Al Capone’s tomb. He said he’d find Capone’s hidden fortune. What did he find? A few empty bottles. West won’t even find that much. Why do you believe her? She’s just hot air.”
“No, she’s not. She’s got some evidence already. But I don’t want to talk to you about her…or anything else…unless you can sit down politely…and you can’t. We were enjoying ourselves when you came and interrupted us. Stu obviously didn’t like your company either, or he wouldn’t be with us instead of you. So get lost. You talk about hot air…you’re full of it! Pushing her chair back, Bella stood up. I’d been right – she was an easy two inches taller than Lucia. “Go cool off!”
Lucia didn’t seem intimidated. “Nope…
you get out of here. This bar is going to the dogs. First you get bitches like you and your sister, who come here and pick fights. Then – ”
“I did not!” I snapped back, interrupting her. “That girl picked on
me.”
“Didn’t you also provoke a fight between two other girls?” Lucia fired back. “One of them was the one who handed you your ass, later.”
I reddened. I hadn’t told anyone about the fight between Wendy and Lauren. Afterwards, I’d been ashamed of what I’d done. I realised that was at least one reason why Wendy had been so angry with me when I saw her with Vic and Jann.
Thankfully my sister didn’t seem to notice my blush. ”We don’t pick fights. People fight with us.”
“Oh? So let’s see…your sister provokes one fight, and she’s in two others against two completely unrelated people. Then you’re in yet another one…again against someone completely unrelated. You’re saying you didn’t start any of them? A likely story! Even if it were true, what difference does it make? You still fight. White trash…that’s what you are!”
Bella sucked in her breath. I saw her tense. “That’s it. Outside…now!” When Lucia didn’t move or say anything, Bella added, “I’m calling you out, girl! You’ve insulted us enough. I’m going to shut that big mouth for you!”
The actress’s lip curled. “Like I said, you’re white trash…the only way you know how to solve anything is with your fists.”
”Out…side…girl!” my sister hissed.
Lucia still didn’t move.
“Okay…have it your way. You can take this here.” Swinging from her hips like a discus thrower, Bella unleashed a slap that struck Lucia’s face so hard it made the actress stumble back a step. “Now…you gonna go outside?”
“You can’t back down now, Lucia.” Stu supported Bella.
Lucia rubbed her cheek. “I suppose there’s only one way to deal to with you.”
We all stepped outside. It seemed that all the other patrons followed, along Emily and most of her staff. It was cold enough that we could see our breath in the air, though the usual wind off the lake was mercifully absent tonight. Still, Emily’s bartenders pulled big gas burners around into a rough semi circle to give some much needed warmth. Even standing right under one of the burners I shivered. I wasn’t used to standing around outside in winter.
Bella was in jeans and a green turtleneck. She’d left her jacket inside. Both women were wearing boots so neither could easily get them off. Given the temperature though, that was probably a good thing. Besides, neither of them had particularly high heels so the boots were no disadvantage.
The two women stepped toward each other. Bella stopped and beckoned to Lucia. “Gimme your best shot.” Lucia closed but Bella didn’t wait for her, and unleashed another hard swinging slap. Again it struck the actress’s face so hard she stumbled – right into Bella’s other hand. Bella had swung the other way and again she’d struck hard. Lucia backed off. Her cheeks glowed red and not from the cold.
Bella kept the pressure on, striking slap after slap. Lucia’s pale face and wide eyes told us she had no defense against the battering she was taking. She tried parrying the shots with some success but still most of my sister’s slaps hit home. Lucia tried slapping back but she had didn’t have the rhythm or the power Bella had. Unlike my sister, the actress was swinging only from the shoulder, and not putting her whole torso with the shots. She began to gasp in pain as Bella landed more and more blows on her face.
She seemed to stagger. Bella took advantage of that and stepped in to hit her even harder. Her arm swept over Lucia’s head as the actress suddenly crouched. Then Lucia leapt up and forward. She slammed her head into Bella’s body. If Bella hadn’t anticipated the spring and stepped back at the last moment, she might have been winded. As it was, Lucia’s head hit her just below her breasts – hard. Bella grunted at the impact. She stepped back a little more to regroup.
Lucia darted forward. She slapped Bella's face, rocking her, then punched her in the chest. The blow was harder than I thought she'd hit. It made Bella stagger. Giving my sister no time to recover Lucia kicked up. Her foot sank into Bella's midriff. My sister doubled up, spluttering, and stumbled away.
The actress followed up her success with some solid punches, hammering away on my sister's ribs. She mixed up her blows, firing them at Bella's chest and face as well. For almost a minute she pursued Bella, who struggled to avoid or parry the actress’s increasingly heavy punches. Bella hardly even hit back. The few blows she did try, Lucia evaded with ease. Bella spent most of that minute just dodging and retreating. It was only when she'd recovered her breath that she put some distance between Lucia's fists and her body. When Bella did so, she regrouped. Her defense improved and she began to block more of Lucia's blows. She began sending a few back too, blows that Lucia in her turn had to defend.
A few seconds later, Bella feinted with her left hand at her foe's face. She deceived Lucia. The actress’s arms came up to defend. Bella’s right fist slugged her in the upper belly, right where Lucia had head butted Bella earlier. The blow made Lucia’s eyes bug wide. Her breath came in a cloud of vapor, visible in the cold night air.
My sister returned to her slapping attack, but more warily this time. She attacked deliberately, watchful for Lucia's evasions or counter attacks. She wielded blows that pounded the actress. Lucia did her best to defend, and indeed she deflected some of the slaps. She struck back herself. For a moment, Bella simply ignored Lucia's blows to her body. She kept pounding the actress with both hands as she swung from her hips. As Lucia followed suit and her own blows got heavier, the pain began to show on Bella’s face. She started to defend, pushing Lucia's right arm away with her own left. Still she kept swinging.
As they stood there and slugged it out toe to toe, my sister's blows were harder and got through more often. Bella was slightly taller and heavier than Lucia but that wasn’t what made the difference. My sister fought better. Lucia swung from the shoulder but Bella swung all the way from her hips, which gave her so much more power. The actress began to gasp and groan as Bella's slaps hit home. She tried to defend more. It didn't work. She gasped as yet another blow rocked her head sideways. Then her legs gave out and she slumped to her knees.
Bella stood back. Generous to her foe, she stretched out her hand to help Lucia up.
Lucia brushed it aside. “I'm not finished with you yet.” She seemed to be about to get to her feet, but suddenly launched into a tackle. Bella's surprise was complete. She back pedaled but way too slowly to avoid Lucia's arms clutching her knees. Lucia's shoulder thrust into her stomach and with a squeal of pain and surprise, Bella landed on her back.
She rolled, narrowly avoiding Lucia's renewed assault, and shakily got to her feet. Before she had regrouped, the actress was on her, trying to knock her down again. She almost succeeded. Bella stumbled but this time she pushed back. For a while the two women stood locked together, shoving without either moving. Then Lucia gave out a little gasp. I couldn't hear it but I saw the puff of condensation erupt from her mouth. She backed up a half pace, putting her foot behind her as if to brace herself. But her next step backwards – bigger - told us she wasn't just getting a better stance. She was retreating. So it proved, as my sister forced her back slowly but inexorably.
Lucia looked around her, as if sizing up her best chance to escape. Bella checked that thought by seizing a fistful of Lucia's tight curls. Gripping tightly with her left hand, she yanked the actress's face forward and slapped it hard with her right. Lucia didn’t take that lying down though. She grabbed a fistful of Bella's longer hair and jerked, pulling Bella's face to the side. The two women stumbled around the sand, pulling at each other. Bella had the height advantage and almost dragged Lucia down to the sand. Lucia stomped on my sister's foot then followed it up with a knee to Bella's thigh. That made my sister stagger. She all but lost her grip. Lucia stomped again and again. She didn’t hit every time but when she did, Bella yelped and cursed. Lucia bent my sister over till their foreheads touched. They stayed like that for a moment. It was as if they were having a time out.
“Go for it babe!” Stephen cheered Bella. “Take it to her!”
My sister straightened up, yanked hard on Lucia and repeated her slap. Still the women remained locked together. Bella limped a little. As she pushed and pulled Lucia's hair, bending her over, Lucia sidestepped. If she hadn’t, Bella's kick might have knocked her leg out from under her.
The actress fought her way upright. She tried to drag Bella off balance but failed. The women stood, each with her left hand enmeshed in the other's hair while she slapped with her right. Lucia's groans and gasps became louder, more like long moans of pain. She was suffering. Bella saw it too, and stepped up the pace.
Then my sister gagged. She broke away breathing hard. Lucia had landed a solid punch to her stomach. Bella had been too confident. Lucia followed p her success with more punches. For a moment my sister could barely parry. Half winded, she just clutched her arms across her belly, gulping air and twisting herself to keep her stomach away from Lucia’s fists. As she recovered her breath though, she began fighting back.
Gradually the tide turned. Bella’s punches became heavier, though much slower than early in the fight. She was conserving her strength now, aiming her blows carefully, hoping to make each count. Lucia's counter punches slowed too. She was defending more. She rallied and then attacked with a barrage of blows aimed at Bella's face and upper body. Grimly Bella defended, dodging and batting away the punches. She kicked out. Lucia dodged and tried to recover her impetus with some more punches. Bella blocked them. Lucia's attack petered out as Bella countered with hard blows of her own, aiming at Lucia's face and upper body.
Again Bella kicked hard. Preoccupied with fending off Bella's punches, Lucia failed to see it until too late. Her eyes opened wide, a split second before Bella's knee slammed into her stomach. It sank in deep and Lucia folded over as air and spit flew from her gaping mouth. She struggled upright, just in time to take a fist to her middle, right in the same spot. Her legs gave out again and she slumped to her knees, clutching her stomach. She croaked her surrender.
This time Bella didn’t offer her a hand. She stood gazing down at the beaten actress for a moment, saying nothing.
There was an awkward silence before Stewart crossed the sand and helped Lucia to her feet. He stood with his arm around her. “Okay girls, I think that wraps it up. Lucia, are you ok?”
She nodded. “Nothing…broken…Stu,” she gasped.
“Well, it’s a hard lesson, my dear.” He hugged her and went on, “But I hope it will teach you not to break into other people's conversations.”
She nodded and said to my sister, “I'm sorry.” I don't think she meant it. She was trying to curry favour with Stewart.
Stewart addressed her friends. “She needs some help. Take her to the bathroom.” He handed her off to one of the other women and they disappeared back into the bar.
Bella rejoined Stephen and me. Emily came over to us. “Come inside and have some coffee. We could all do with one…hell, maybe something stronger.” She led us toward the door. “Bella, I've got another first aid kit behind the bar.”
While Emily brewed coffee, I patched up Bella. There was nothing too bad, just a few scratches and some bruising. They would heal quickly enough. Emily pushed two mugs of steaming hot coffee in front of us and poured a hefty shot of brandy into each. “Damn them…all of them.” She jerked her finger at Lucia's friends. “Actors!”
“Hey I'm an actor too!” said Stewart. He nodded to his former companions. He didn’t seem at all interested in rejoining them. “Give them a break…they need to unwind.”
“Stu, you're a whole different animal,” replied Emily. “You’re mature, you don't drink too much and you're not so loud that no one can hear over you.”
“The key word is mature,” Stu smiled wryly. “I'm way older than they are. They're like young people everywhere…they just need to let off steam.”
“They can do it elsewhere, especially when their way of letting off steam is to provoke fights.” He opened his mouth but Emily shook her head. “They do. Kim Curzon picked on Bethany here. Kim thought she'd be easy meat. Of course Kim was hardly sober, but what’s new? Bethany hammered her into the ground. Now this.” She turned to me, “Still, you have some nasty friends. There was that blonde who fought your friend, that time you were here with Peter Balfour and Vic what's his name. The same blonde who whipped your ass. I'll be glad not to see her again in a hurry.”
Stewart looked at me for a second. Quite deliberately he turned his back on me and said to Emily, “Tell me more.”
Emily was about to, when Lucia emerged from the bathroom. She still looked shaken, but better than when she on her knees in the sand.
Stewart spoke to the woman who accompanied her – the same one who’d taken her to the bathroom. “Heather, I think you'd best take her home.”
“Stewart,” Bella interrupted him, “I think if I were her, I'd like a coffee – with some brandy in it –before I went home.” She gazed at Lucia. “Come on…I'm sure Emily will make one.”
I was amazed. I'd have never done that to anyone I'd just beaten in a fight. Stephen smiled and hugged Bella. “That's my girl. What a great thing to do!”
I pouted for a moment. Stewart clearly no longer wanted anything to do with me. He still had his back turned to me as he talked quietly to Emily. Stephen kept his arm clasped round Bella’s waist. She snuggled into him as they talked to Lucia, caught up in their own little world. None of Lucia’s friends wanted to chat either. I felt uncomfortably alone.
I told myself to snap out of it. Stephen was so impressed with Bella. She'd been restrained under provocation, she'd won the fight and now she was magnanimous. And Stephen – perhaps for the first time – truly appreciated how good my sister was. I had a sly thought that she could hardly have done better if she'd scripted it, but I dismissed that thought as unworthy. I knew I should be pleased for my sister who helped me out so often.
My thanks to the Scribbler who edited and made this story much better and to Braveheart who gave me some great ideas.
