After ending an exhausting and, for me, heart wrenching four hour practice, Dewey pops open his first beer and Petie lights up a smoke. I make another excuse to leave. "I can't start up with the same habits I had in highschool"- I tell myself jumping into my old Ford bronco. On Mondays after classes and practice, I go to yoga and meditation classes- these are my only escapes anymore.

That was my thinking until I met Herb at one of our bar concerts. He wanted my autograph, for some reason, and I was struck by his charm and looks.

We went out for a drink afterward. I talked of music and he talked of architecture and, once a dozen beers were in him, Tatum. We were both equally passionate about these subjects and I soon knew a lot about this Tatum girl. Whereas some relationships can be very physical, ours wasn't. We got together to figure out how to have what we wanted. We were our own support group.

"Herb, I am going to be graduating this May. Would she come and take my spot in the house? Then you will know where she is at,… and who she is with." Herb would nodd. He was planning Tatum's life, and although I didn't agree with this control he had, he was her protector, guardian, pseudo-brother.

"Are any of the guys there a threat?"

"Na, Mark and Zoe both have girlfriends and Matt is freaky, hyper, a "not-all-there" type of honey. Mark is probably too nerd-like for Tatum's personality and Zoe is unpredictable and totally in love with Sid."

"Okay. I will let her know. Thanks Dree. You are the greatest."

"Thanks babe, now can you drive me home, I am kind of drunk?"

"Kind of..?" She smiles at him and lurches forward in a kind of hug.