been
me
and
you,
Mom.
Isn’t
that
enough?”
Shelly
shook
her
head.
Her
son
had
years
to
learn
about
human
sexuality
and
how
it
worked.
She
was
just
finding
out
herself
what
ten
years
of
abstinence
could
do
to
a
person.
“AJ,
don’t
you
think
I
can
get
lonely
sometimes?”
she
asked
him
softly.
He
didn’t
say
anything
for
a
little
while.
Then
he
said.
“But
you
never
got
lonely
before.”
“Yes,
and
I
worked
a
lot
before.
That’s
how
you
got
into
all
that
trouble.
I
was
putting
in
extra
hours
at
the
hospital
when
the
cost
of
living
got
high.
I
needed
additional
money
so
the
two
of
us
could
afford
to
live
in
the
better
part
of
town.
I
didn’t
have
time
to
get
lonely.
Now
with
my
new
job,
I
can
basically
make
my
own
hours
so
I
can
spend
more
time
with
you.
But
you’re
away
in
school
a
lot
during
the
days,
and
pretty
soon
you’ll
have
friends
you’ll
want
to
spend
time
with,
won’t
you?”
AJ
thought
of
Morris
and
Cornelius
and
the
fun
they’d
had
on
the
playground
that
day
at
school.
“Yes.”
“Well,
don’t
you
think
I
need
friends,
too?”
“Yes,
but
what’s
wrong
with
having
girlfriends?”
“There’s
nothing
wrong
with
it,
but
most
of
the
girls
I
went
to
school
with
have
moved
away,
and
although
I’m
sure
I’ll
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