And Rosalita and I weren't the only ones whose lives had been turned upside down. Mom's flirting with me became more steadily obvious, especially after she and Dad sat me down the first week in May and announced that they were going to try a temporary separation. "We have some issues that your Mom and I need to work out," Dad said in his best 'fatherly' voice. Dad informed me that for a while, he was moving out, taking an apartment downtown to be nearer his office.

Now, I had known that things had been rocky between Mom and Dad for a few years. Their arguments had grown increasingly hostile...