Jamie called her friend Naomi. “You’ve got to come over. We’ve fixed up the playroom. Completely redid it. You have to come see. Come right now. I need you here. Bring the critters. Come.”

“I can’t,” Naomi said.

“Oh. That’s disappointing.”

“I mean I can’t bring Nils. He’s away for a few days. I’ll explain when I get there. Also, Thomas is visiting Grandma, and Amber is with Ruth for a few days. So I’m kind of lonely. I’ll be over right away.”

Upon Naomi’s arrival, the girls hugged hard. “I’m so glad you called,” Naomi said. “I miss Amber. I miss Thomas.”

“What about Nils?” Jamie asked. “What’s the story there?”

“Well, of course I miss Nils too, but I’m used to him being away. I suppose you are too. Anyway he went off to visit one of his models. Fumiko. I met her once. She can be nice, but she’s very needy.”

“Aren’t we all,” Jamie said. “In our own way.”

“Yeah, well, Fumiko supposedly was desperate. Or anyway that was Nils’ interpretation. She’d sent him an email. No words, but it had a picture. And you know what they say about pictures. Wait, I have a copy of the picture on my phone.”

“Goodness,” Jamie said.

“Yeah. Lots of goodness.”

“Do you think it’s guy goodness or girl goodness?” Jamie asked. “Or a mix of both?”

“Well whatever the case, there’s a lot of goo in that goodness,” Naomi said.

Jamie said, “You know, ‘goodness,’ might be a good word for cum. I mean I like cum well enough, but sometimes...”

“I know what you mean,” Naomi said. “Most of the cum words don’t quite do it.”

“Semen,” Jamie said. “Sounds so medical.”

“Or nautical,” Naomi said.

“Sperm.”

“Like the whale, speaking of nautical.”

“Spend.”

“Like shopping for suspenders.”

“That’s a stretch.”

“Okay, what about jizz?”

“Too fizzy.”

“I’m sure there are others.”

“But goodness is good.”

The girls laughed and hugged again.

“So come and see the new playroom,” Jamie said.

At the door, Naomi said, “Whew! It’s beautiful! So nice and creamy. Should I take my shoes off?”

“Cream. There’s one we forgot. Anyway, yes, take off your shoes. You have to feel the rug. In fact, take off everything.”

“So nice. It must have been a lot of work.”

“Yes. Well, no, not really. The hardest part was getting everything out, and when Nils left I gave up on that. See, we had the guy. Ivan. He lugged everything out, tore out the carpet, and did the painting. He was wonderful.”