Shane, Dale & The Rufty Tufty Club8

Peggy and Lillian thunderously applauded, using just their right hand. Some say (never give it away) that, after having clenched their teeth for a good third of the show, Shane and Dale cried their eyes out and even begged for the spanking to stop. The last time that Dale had wept was four years before, over his mother’s knee (the day he had broken his fists windowpane with his first slingshot). The last time Shane had wept was two years before, over his mother’s knee (the first time he had been caught playing truant). And so that night, in Belleville, there were not just one feu d’artifice, but three. And not just one bouquet final, but three. One in the cloudless sky over the city. And two over Shane’s and Dale’s most tender part. And believe me or not, the most flaming one was not the first.