"Why now?" I said to Claudia, the power attorney. I'd followed her into Walgreen's, where she'd dashed in "just to get some supplies." Now we were standing in front of the Hidden Sex Zone, the tiny area of the store where they manage to cram all the condoms, lubricants, Astro-glide, creams, gels and more onto two minuscule shelves. "Do you just save up until the time that you need this stuff, and then call me? Or is it just a coincidence that I happen to be around when you peruse the Walgreen's Bermuda Triangle?"

She smirked. "Interesting how it's all hidden away," she said. "In the rear of the store."

I picked up a phallic bottle of gel and considered. "Wait a minute. I thought you were on the pill."

"I am." Claudia frowned as she scanned the tiny print on a box of Trojans, as if she were reading a recipe from a faded newspaper clipping.

"I have some condoms at home," I said helpfully. "They have that stuff in it that gives me a yeast infection, so I can't use them. You are welcome to the entire supply. The condoms, I mean. Not the yeast infections."

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N E X T+P A G E +| The new taboo