Deb, I didn't volunteer to beta because a cold eats all my brain cells, but I'd like to if you can wait until I have a measurable IQ again. Otherwise, keep me in mind for the next round.

Deb, insent.

Susan, received.

Ginger, I'm hoping I may be able to get some more work done tomorrow, if this whatever-it-is lets go of my immune system for two minutes. And as I told Kristin, there's no rush; this is the new novel, so there's no deadline.

Don't suppose anyone's up late who would be willing to do an emergency last-minute edit for me? I have a 250-word project description for a foundation grant application due tomorrow. I've finished it, and am happy, but would love some Buffista eyeballs.

Oh, well. I'll friends it in my lj, just in case anyone gets up early.

Liese, LJ is being a pita. Can you post it here or e-mail it to me? If you're up?

Yeah, for me too. Insent.

backflung. It looks good. I hope you get it.

Liese, too late? I've only just got up, but will read if reading is still wanted.

It's a very long story, but I've been called upon to write a sexy story about voter fraud. Am I on the right track?(This popped in my head last night as I watched the Big Dog on TV. He would like that, I think. It's not finished, obviously.

“What’s wrong with you tonight?” John asked. “Not to be crude, but I wasn’t down there for my health.”

Suzanne, his beautiful girlfriend, looked at him with those big blue eyes, sighed and said “No, no, it’s fine...it’s nothing.”

”That’s what every partner loves to hear. “That’s great, dear. So beautifully adequate. You’re the grilled cheese of love.”

“No. You’re great. We’re great. Better than great...mostly. I just don’t feel like it now, that’s all. Not since Tuesday.”

Not something you’d expect from Suzanne,whose unexpected and quixotic ardor had gotten the couple removed from Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, and, most recently, the window with the return slot outside Blockbuster Video.(That last one still struck John as unfair, as they were barely edging toward an R rating at the time of the banishment, but that argument seemed to strengthen the rat-faced manager’s resolve. Thank God for Netflix.)

“What’s wrong? Supervisor giving you hell again? Say the word and I’ll beat him up for you.”

“ That is so sweet of you to offer, but, no, it’s not that. I can’t stop thinking about what happened in Florida, honey.”

And she got up and put on one of his shirts, which was long enough to make a tube dress on her, and stood by the bedroom window. “Was this about that Spring Break where you and your roommate stood on that balcony drunk and flashed people for beads because you had so many rum runners you forgot you hadn’t gone to New Orleans?”

“No, but you can never tell that story enough...” Even in a relatively dark room, he could still see she was flushing.

“You know, if there’s anything you wanted to tell me about that night...aftermath, deleted scenes, whatever, you can, confession being good for the soul and all.” He smiled. Maybe this night could be salvaged after all.

“I don’t understand why the media didn’t cover it more strenuously,” she said thoughtfully.

“ Now, sweetie, we both know your breasts are nationally ranked...perfect size and shape. Lovely nipples, which I didn’t think I cared about until I met you, but I hardly think they rate much national coverage.”

“Be serious for five minutes, John, please.The election. You know I’m busting my butt writing that mystery, right? Well, if I were writing this election, I’d have to know something was up.”

” And yet, you fail to notice what’s up right here.”

“I was talking about something important.”

“No, that wasn’t emasculating at all. Thank you for asking.”

“Anytime... let’s think about this, ok? I think we can all admit by now that something happened in Florida in 2000, right? And it turned out pretty well for the President that the most hotly contested state also had a Bush in the governor’s chair. I couldn’t even write that as a coincidence, babe. Not even in fanfic. The hard-core fans would eat me alive.”

“If I agree, can we get back to what we were doing? God, you’re sexy when you get political.”

”OK, thank you. But Bush isn’t even a very smart criminal, right? Because when he wants another bite of the apple, he goes back to the same place. The biggest braindead on the street would know better than to do that. And it’s so *obvious*...three counties do a complete political about-face? Come on.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do all night...you’ve been watching that show again, haven’t you?”

”What tipped you off?”At least she had the grace to look embarrassed.

“Braindead. But that doesn’t account for Ohio, or for the fact that it seems the whole country is taking a hard swing to the right.”

”Ugh. Don’t remind me. If we keep talking about that in here, I’m never going to want to again... I’m just warning you. You might want to stock up on comics till the next (continued...)