The girls did not watch me tell the story. They told it themselves, in turns, barely letting me get an occasional word in edgewise.
Ben said not one more word for almost the entire story, all the way up until he just had to say, "And then they each watched!?! In turns?!?"
I'll admit, I had wanted to keep this story secret so I could one day tell it myself, reveling in the reactions to my words. I also had kept it in reserve in case I ever needed an ego boost. I sure as hell didn't need an ego boost at the moment, but I also sure as hell got one. Ben kept stealing looks at me of horrified worship.
And the girls told the tale in all the graphic detail that I had provided to them. To have these two girls talk to him in those explicit terms was further killing Ben. If he had not been wearin
