I haven’t seen Galveston since that bad thing happened to her. She’s probably pissed at me. We used to be real close and now I have totally bailed on her. I do feel guilty about that.

Other people I know have been down to see her and they tell me she’s doing better. Still, I can’t make myself go. I just can’t stand to see her beat up like that. By a guy. Again.

Some people say she put herself in that position — she’s always at the wrong place at the wrong time. I say give her a break. At least she got her babies out of harm’s way this time. Sent them packing before the punches flew. She must have learned her lesson. The last time this happened was a long time ago, when she was a lot younger. Mr. No Name came along out of the blue and pounded the hell out of her. And she lost so many of her babies back then. So many.

Maybe this man wasn’t quite as cruel to her as the last one. It’s hard to tell. But once again, she’s down on her luck. Once again, people want to write her off. And they’re avoiding her, like I am. Because we know, sure enough, that it’s going to happen again.