The Round Waterbed
It was summer in Grant County. The days were long and hot with the dry heat of the high desert of Eastern Washington. The giant round waterbed was in the middle of the living room. It was the old fashioned kind with brown leatherette padded edges, and it was about 7 feet in diameter. It was covered with one of those brown furry blankets with horses on them and many cheap pillows. It would have looked at home in a seedy Las Vegas honeymoon suite motel, but instead, it was in the living room of a family home. The family had three generations living under the same roof. The grandparents, two grown daughters, and their boyfriends and kids. My best friend was 16 and lived in the attic. In the attic, she had a single bed, one lightbulb, and some old milk crates to store her clothes in. The attic had wide plank 2x4s with plywood for the walls. My friend Irene* came from an abusive home and to avoid her family, she had been staying with friends. Now she was staying with "Uncle...