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The worst thing is that the way Harley acts lines up with my biggest fear - that no-one is implicitly good and that everyone is just trying to manipulate each other, and I'm too stupid to see it. That everyone is actually just lying when they say nice things, and they're trying to trick you into their own schemes. That everyone has ulterior motives. And maybe I'm too naive to believe that people actually can care about one another. So whenever I encounter Harley, part of me starts to immediately tense up. And I know I shouldn't be letting it get to me - she's just a fictional character. So well done @Frostybaby for having such an effect on me. But I cannot understand anyone who deliberately goes out of their way to harm another, or puts themself and their desires above someone else's needs. Like, I try my best (sometimes to the point of paralysis) to ensure I do the best thing I can for the people around me. To see someone who has such a different value system is shocking. To not even care or notice that what you're doing is wrong, and can cause harm to another person is bad enough. But to actually get off on that? (Like Harley did after she filmed the "birthday".) No, fuck that. (That's not the same as sadism in a BDSM context, I have no issues with that. Yes, that's causing "harm". But it's done safely, conscientiously, and with consent.)

I totally agree with you. She just needs to move on and quit trying to exploit Paul in her weird twisted scheme she has playing in her screwed up head.  Shes not a good person period. 

My wife and I are skipping labor day this weekend, and staying at home in order to avoid everyone out and on the roads. Instead, we're going to celebrate it thos coming Wednesday. We've got a trip planned to St.Augusting Florida (about an hour drive from home). We're going for an easy tour of the cirty with various wine tastings. Followed by an overnight Bed & Breakfast.

Harley's the worst part of this entire story. Tbh, I kinda skimmed the above chapter part - I have no desire to know anything more about Harley or her world. The less I know about her, the better. Still loving this story, though. It's been a kind of palette cleanser - the way Paul relates to his parents and them to him. At the moment, most of the other ongoing stories on this site with male protagonists (in the little role) seem to keep making their characters' worlds and situation worse and worse. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy those stories - I've been enjoying Winter on Wet Break, Stepmommy on Baby Duty, and Coming Home. But each of those makes me yearn for something that feels a little happier or hopeful. Which has been this story for the last while.

I think Mom's PC is on it's last legs. It's only 5 years old, but has been end-of-life'd by HP so no new driver updates, and the networking has locked at a rate of 57 mbps. Ordered a new network adapter to try and get around the motherboard's crappy one, but we'll see if that works. Biggest obsticle to getting her a new PC isn't the money, but getting her to remember all her logins and passwords to reinstall and set it up!