He read the notice of the missing doll out loud. “I sure as hell could put that twenty-five bucks to healthy use. Trouble is finding a dollie to fit the bill.” “Could be I’ve got such a dollie.” “What would a growed man be doing with a dollie?”

The itive aspectizers express a totalizing of the action.

Other nights it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t miss the shots the world number 97 would have got with his eyes closed. I didn’t insult my mates on the way home. I didn’t drink one over the eight and risk losing my licence…again.

“Don't 'son' me.” “I'm old enough to be your father,” he said with a dismissive wave of his hand.