The other Bunnies met men who would send them on trips, which was exactly what Sam did when he surprised Sherri by handing her an envelope with a plane ticket to Houston. Now, that interested her. She’d never been farther away from East Troy than a 4-H bus trip to the state fair in Des Moines, and she’d never set foot on an airplane. She felt she was due for a real, grown-up vacation after a lifetime of constant servitude. She agreed without hesitation and begged the other Bunnies to cover her shifts for her, knowing she’d have to return their favors, and there would be lots of doubles in her future.

She couldn’t wait to tell Val. When she did, Val seemed worried instead of impressed. “Let me tell you some things you didn’t learn about at the nunnery, Sister Sher: Don’t ever let a man know he’s given you an orgasm or he’ll think he owns you. You’ve had an orgasm, right?”

“Sure,” Sherri lied. “Lots of times.”

Val clearly didn’t believe her. “Right. Let’s practice your sex face.”

“My sex face?”

“Like this. Get on your knees.” Val sank down on the shag carpeting and patted the space next to her. “Now do this.” Val arched her back, parted her lips, and gazed at the sky. Sherri did the same thing.

“How’s this?”

“It’s great if you want to look like a large-mouth bass.” Val began to laugh so hard she couldn’t breathe, and soon Sherri was snorting. She never would have dreamed she’d become that comfortable with Val. “Call me if you have an emergency. Tell Ola and Biata to find me wherever I am.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“No. You’re like Anne of Green Gables walking into a lion’s den.”

“I can do this. Haven’t you heard of feminism?”

“God, you’re clueless. Here.” She opened her drawer and pulled out a box of condoms. “You just started on the pill, so make sure he wears a raincoat.”

Bunny Gwen offered to drive her to the Milwaukee airport on her way home from her shift. Sherri liked Gwen, even if she kept to herself. She seemed like she saw everything and had something to say but she always held her tongue. She also seemed to know that Sherri wasn’t headed to Houston to visit an uncle, as Sherri had claimed. “Don’t do anything stupid. Pay attention to your surroundings. You have keys?”

Sherri reached into her bag and jingled her key chain.

“Hold them in your hand wherever you go. Anyone messes with you, gouge their eyes out and run. Got it? I don’t want you ending up like the girl in Looking for Mr. Goodbar.”