he said it was just like a saddle.  But it wasn’t.  The cowboy didn’t yell like that when he landed in the saddle.”

I kept my eyes on Cali.  “Did Eddie hurt himself?”

“Uh huh.”  She nodded emphatically.  “He was screaming something awful.  They had to take him to the ‘Mergency Room.”

“Is he all right now?”

“Yeah.  I think so.  He had to hold a bag of ice cubes there, over his …” She glanced up at AJ, then whispered in my ear.  “On his pee pee.  For a long time.”  She looked a little confused as to why that had been necessary, but still somehow satisfied that the boy had received a just punishment.

Searching for a diplomatic response, I said, “W...

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