Chris Bottoms is glad to be home from undergoing the first of two surgeries that will free him from the ostomy bag he’s been wearing for more than a year. He’s anxious about the upcoming second surgery, but life is keeping him on his toes.<br><br>The bank hierarchy is clearly grooming Chris’s partner, Mickey O’Donovan, vice president of a megabank, for a promotion. That doesn’t help reconcile the family who turned their backs on Mickey for not going into the family business. To make matters worse, Chris's little brother's abusers are still out there, and that makes Chris angry. He and Mickey are raising Ted now. Between dealing with spiteful relatives and doing their best by a hurt ten-year-old boy, Chris and Mickey wonder how much more reality they can take.<br><br>Chris's second and final surgery can't come soon enough. Both men are looking forward its most important side-effect -- Chris will once again be able to enjoy prostate massage, but not until three months after the surgery.

Bottoms Away

“No, Ma’am. We don’t have a landline. Let me give you my cell phone number.” Chris took his place card, retrieved a pen from his pocket, and wrote the number on the card.


THEIR EMPTY DESSERT dishes had been cleared away and they were sipping glasses of wine. Ken Bellamy stood and once again tapped a knife against his glass.


“Ladies and gentlemen… if you’ll give me your attention for a few minutes, we’ll get the business part of this function taken care of. I’ve asked our Vice President of Operations to give us a quick update on the status of our recent acquisition.”


Andy Clifton stood and gave the group a rundown on how things were going. He concluded by touching on their huge inventory of foreclosed-upon properties and its status.


Chapter 39