"College Reunion" now available from Soul's Road Press

"College Reunion" by Andrea Dale

At her college reunion, a woman tells her husband a steamy story about overhearing a couple having sex in a study lounge. Little does she know the tale will inspire her husband to bend her over an old oak desk in the very same lounge and give her bottom a blistering she won’t soon forget…. A sexy spanking short story from a legendary erotica heavy-hitter.

"With stories like 'College Reunion' by Andrea Dale…who’s got time to study?"
— Cleis Press

“College Reunion” originally appeared in C is for Co-Eds (Cleis Press, 2007)

Cover photo by Forever Captured / iStockPhoto.

Available in a variety of electronic formats
Amazon |  Barnes & Noble |  Smashwords

Updatey-date

I apologize for the lack of entries lately. A combination of not much to report and too much stuff to do. Which seems like an oxymoron, but it really isn't. Also, our Internet has been flaky and/or completely out for two days, coming up on three. The iPad (and Bluetooth keyboard) helps a lot, but isn't ideal for certain projects. Like anything that involves an attachment of something that needs to be saved on a computer, or attached from a computer. Argh. So briefly…Wednesday I had an eye appointment, which Morgana kindly squired me to, as my eyes were dilated and I couldn't drive home by myself. I forgot that always makes my eyeballs hurt. Well, not so much hurt as just be there. One shouldn't be constantly made aware of one's eyeballs; it's just not natural. So I got little else done that afternoon. Although it was nice to learn that my verrrrry thin (lattice-like) retina in my left eye repaired itself with some scar tissue in the past year. Looks just like I got laser surgery. Only cheaper.

A friend of Ken's visited that day, and they categorized all the bits and bobs that had been delivered with Ken's motorcycle. Still no sign of his wallet (which had been in his jacket pocket, a pocket that was sliced through when emergency services dealt with him), his passport (which had been in his computer bag), a pair of earrings he bought for me during the rally (also in his computer bag), his radar detector (which could've gone flying during the accident itself), or the extra final drive he'd carried just in case (which had been in a saddlebag). Some of that seems a little suspicious, but there's nothing we can really do. We ordered new credit cards (thankfully he'd stripped almost everything out of his wallet beforehand) and have an appointment to get him a new driver's license.

Thursday he had an appointment with a hand surgeon. No big surprises there, and he has an appointment to get the pins taken out in three weeks. After that, it's 3–6 months of therapy, and his hand should be back to normal.

Then Ken decided that the back tire of the bike had to be swapped out right now, because he wanted the bike dealer to pick up the bike Friday (so they could officially proclaim it totalled, thus moving the insurance paperwork along). Right now. No, I didn't have time to put away the few bits of food I'd picked up on the way home from the doctor's. No, I didn't have time to change out of my clean shorts before smearing tire gunk on myself. No, I didn't have time to arrange someone else to help with this so I could have a little time to get stuff done. Oh, nooooo…. (It's a good thing I love him!)

Today our cleaning lady came, and it's hard to describe how good a clean house feels. It was long overdue. When she does the big stuff, I feel like I can maintain, and that's a stress relief right there.

I was supposed to have a hair appointment, but my Fabulous Gay Hairdresser called to say he was moving salons and thus wouldn't be working today. Seems a little last-minute to tell me…. But I'll follow him to his new place, and he'll be calling me next week to reschedule. Unfortunately, this comes on the heels of me rescheduling twice (because of travel), so I rather look like Captain Caveman right now….

The bike dealership picked up the bike this afternoon, and then we toddled off to the local Urgicare, which is also a dr's office, because we don't have a GP and it was time for the stitch in Ken's side to be removed (where the chest tube drain had been). It looked a little red to me, so I didn't think we should wait 'til Monday. After almost two hours waiting there, they read Ken's temp as 101°, and the doctor didn't feel he had all the necessary equipment to do a post-op (which is not…oh, nevermind), so he directed us off to the hospital ER. By the time Ken was seen there, his temp was 99°, the redness was just the pinkness of healing, and the price of having on stitch removed and a prescription for just-in-case antibiotics filled was $350. O.o

However, it was worth the price of admission to have the doctor ask Ken if he smoked (no) or drank (rarely). To which Ken added, pointing at me, "She's my vice." Love is a drug, baby, and you're on good painkillers. Hee.

By then it was 7 pm, so we grabbed dinner at a new burger place (okay, but nothing to write home about, despite a couple of steampunk-esque light fixtures that I couldn't get decent pictures of), and have spent the rest of the evening napping (Ken), sitting with the kitlings outside (me), and watching various TV (both of us).

As for tomorrow…well, Grimoire is showing clear signs of at best another bladder/urinary infection (he and Eostre both get them about every two months, for no reason anyone can fathom) or at worst kidney disease, so I'll be carting him off to the vet. I also need to pick up Ken's prescription. I'd like to sneak off to a coffee shop to have Internet on a Real Computer [TM], but we shall see. I will likely be calling the cable company. Other than that…no promises!

(Remember: Visits to Ken are the best present you can give him right now! Call to schedule!)

Help needed

We do need help with a few things, if you can spare the time:

• Someone to change the tire on Ken's bike. He can supervise/instruct. Preferably early on Friday so he can have the BMW dealer pick it up later that day.

• Someone to go to Costco with me to schlep heavy things (cat litter, flats of soda). Sometime next week is fine.

• Folks to visit Ken. He really does need friends to keep him from going stir crazy. Call or email me to schedule.

Thank you!

To do, doing, done

I actually accomplished a fair amount yesterday…guess my To Do list was the right level of gentle but do-able:

• made appt with orthopedic surgeon re: Ken’s hand
• wrote and enveloped check to lovely friend who rescued Ken’s bike from the tow yard
• wrote and enveloped letter to Nevada Highway Patrol requesting a copy of the accident report
• did dishes
• put away laundry (finally)
• threw in another load of laundry
• bought a battery for the garage door opener and ink for the printer (allowing me to print letters, contracts, etc.)
• printed, signed, enveloped contracts for short story sale
• canceled flights to Colorado for Styx @ Red Rocks show  :-(
• emailed re: how to release tickets for Styx @ Red Rocks show  :-(
• made rice and steamed broccoli to go with leftover tilapia dish
• toddled over to Textile Guild to say hi to everyone for a bit

on deck for today:

• eye appointment (oh yay, I’ll spend the afternoon with my eyes dilated)
• many, many Chronicler emails
• work emails
• cuddle with Ken and watch another show or two
• wrap sister’s family’s long overdue holiday gifts
• call tree guy to cut back our lemon tree now that a good portion of it has fallen over
• call gopher people to ask question about bill
• call sisters
• no doubt more dishes
• put away latest load of laundry (no worries; it’s small)
• writing…

Question for my foodie friends

A generous local friend made some food for us, which is awesomely awesome, and I have a question about one of the dishes in terms of reheating.

It's tilapia, sliced lemons, and celery in a lemony sauce. There's a bit of something else green I can't identify; possibly green onions?

Anyway, it arrived last night just-cooked and was quite yummy. Tonight I reheated just the fish and celery and sauce in the microwave, having discarded the lemon slices that were on those pieces of fish. It was still yummy, but something in it had taken on a bitter taste.

Is it the lemons, and should I remove them immediately? Is it because the original dish is in a metal pan and that's reacting to the lemons?

Is it the celery?

Is it because I reheated the fish in the microwave?

Or is it something else I'm not thinking of?

We have two more helpings of this and if I can minimize the bitter taste for Wednesday night's supper, that would be groovy.

Thanks!

I dunno. You tell me.

Many of you, upon learning of Ken’s accident, made a point of reminding me to take care of myself during this crazy time. And I appreciate that, because while I intellectually know that I can’t be there for Ken if I’m not mentally and physically healthy and rested (and I always give the same advice to others), I’m not necessarily good at putting it into practice.

Also, I know I’m not good at asking for help. It’s hard for me, for whatever reason. Oh, there are some projects where I’m just peachy fine at delegation, but when it comes to everyday life, not so much. Morgana even offered to set up a Yahoogroup for me (as a friend of ours did when she had a hysterectomy)…but here’s the problem:

I don’t know what help I need.

I mean, folks have already brought some meals, and that is absolutely a huge help. I don’t enjoy cooking, and although I picked up ingredients for several meals, it’s nice to know I have a few things I can grab out of the freezer when I just can’t face cooking.

I kinda want to say it would be nice if someone could do the dishes, but really. It’s just some dishes.

Admittedly, I was feeling overwhelmed before Ken’s accident even happened, and had a bit of meltdown the day I drove down to Ontario for the IBR finish. I was planning to talk to Ken about how I needed help and he needed to take over some of the responsibilities of the house. (Hah.)

And yet…I can’t look at anything and see where I could ask a friend to pitch in. Most of this stuff is stuff I just need to do, or would take so long to explain to someone that it would be faster to do myself.

I made what I hope is a gentle To Do list for tomorrow, and there’s nothing on it I can foist off on someone else, except maybe the errands, but it would do me good to get out for a little bit. (Ken’s self-sufficient enough that I can leave for an hour or two—if I thought I needed to be out longer, I would ask someone to come and hang out with him.) The rest of my list is things like phone calls and emails and wrapping some presents so I can mail them and get them out of my house, and canceling my flight to Denver because I can’t go to the Styx show at Red Rocks (did I mention I screwed up tickets to both the Greek and LA County Fair shows, so this would have been my only front-row show by a long stretch? Yeah. Fuck.). I have managed to get receipts input into Quicken, and I’ve done laundry (still need to put it away, though). The cleaning lady is coming on Friday, which will help immensely.

So what do I ask friends to do, when they ask if they can help? They can’t write my emails, or write my novels or submit my stories (and yes, I could take time off from this, but I’m actually itching to write right now—too long without words and I get all out of sorts).

I guess all I can ask for is this: Schedule time to stop by and see Ken. He’s going stir crazy. For that matter, so am I, so feel free to call me or come over and hang out for a bit.

And if you can think of something you can help out with, let me know. Because I’m fresh out of ideas.

Home, the longer version

So. We are home. Home sweet home…. Since June 7, I have been home 4.5 days. I really don’t want to leave again for a good long time, so it’s a good thing most of this month has been cancelled! We’d been saying we wanted a rainy weekend to curl up and burn through the shows saved on the DVR and even a few movies…well, now we have it.

Anyway. For the IBR, Ken had purchased insurance that would cover transport from an accident site to a hospital, as well as transport from that hospital to one near home. I pinged the insurance folks the day after I arrived in Reno to confirm what coverage Ken had, and on Tuesday (once Ken was stabilized and the holiday weekend was over), I called them. Turned out they contract with folks in London, and I was told I’d get a call from them in about 15 minutes. Didn’t happen. I called back the next day, which finally got the ball in motion. Sloooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy.

So slowly that by the time they got their I’s dotted and T’s crossed, no doctor at the local hospital would admit Ken, because he was well enough to be released. (Ironically, part of the delay was the insurance co’s concern that Ken wouldn’t be stable enough for air travel.) In other words, Epic Insurance Fail.

The hospital had an ICU full of patients recovering from the holiday weekend who really needed beds in the regular ward, and there was nothing else they could do for Ken. When we got the word on Friday that there was nowhere to transport Ken to, we booked a rental car, I picked it up, we packed our stuff and Ken into the car (with the hospital’s stellar help), and off we went.

I want to segue here to say we have nothing but gushing praise for Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Every single person who worked with Ken was utterly amazing. From the great surgeons who removed his spleen and put his right hand back together, to the social worker who called to calmly tell me he’d been in an accident, to the nurses and assistants who cheerfully and efficiently cared for him every day, you have our undying gratitude. You rocked the house.

As I mentioned in the last post, what then transpired was a 9.5-hour drive home, with two brief stops for food and gas and whatnot. We debated stopping partway (since my night vision isn’t the best on the less-lit highways) but we really wanted to be home with the kitties, and it was the best decision. We debated the difference between a meadow and a lea and a pasture (not to be confused with the bog/marsh/fen deliberation), listened to various XM radio stations (hair metal, 80s in 8, vinyl classics), and discussed what bands/artists we want to see (both possible and “if I had a time machine/Holodeck”) and where in the world we still want to travel.

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Ken’s dad and his wife visited us today, bringing lunch with them, which was fantastic, because I’d used the last two eggs to make Ken’s breakfast and hadn’t had the chance to shop yet. (The milk was still good, praise the gods, so I was able to have tea. I don’t know if I would have survived on only 4 hours of sleep* without tea.) They brought my car (which had been rescued from the hotel in Ontario CA by our friends Nanci and Lenny—thank you again, awesome friends!) and went with me to return the rental car, at which point I was also able to do a good food shopping. Alas, by supper time I was so exhausted that I ordered pizza. I’ll get an earlier start on food tomorrow—plus a local friend has cooked some meals for us that will be delivered tomorrow.

I also managed to do laundry (but not yet put it away), unpack my suitcase, and sort mail. And Ken and I did watch episodes of Leverage, Covert Affairs, Graham Norton, and Craig Ferguson (the Neil Gaiman interview, which I saved because I thought Ken would be amused by it).

I have a bazillion and one things to do (I haven’t even mentioned the Short Story Workshop, or the latest stories that are available for sale, and I want to talk about my sister, and…) but I’m taking it one day at a time. Tomorrow Ken’s mom is coming to visit, so I’m going to do a Trader Joe’s run and fill our water bottles and maybe get a few other errands done.

And write. I’m sorely in need of the writing….

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*Remember when I said “If anyone wakes me up tomorrow morning (besides Ken) there will be hell to pay”?  ::laughs hollowly::  First one of the neighbors decided to start yipping, then the lawn guys showed up to mow, and then the neighbor kids started shrieking, and Grimmy really wanted attention/breakfast, and….  O.o