moment of bending

even though I'm not done with McCoy, another story begins to emerge....

--aa

There is a chapter in my life so black, that even with the longest reach of memory, I cannot retrieve a single page that is redeeming.  Yet I try.

Kristin was the only woman I ever struck.  The price I paid for it was high, because that reflexive, backhanded slap impelled her, several days later, to propose to me, and the lurid bruise it left across her delicate face persuaded me to accept.

to be continued......