In the kitchen the disappointment was palpable. His mother looked like a fuzzy pink pear in her house coat and hair up in rollers. Regarding him she drew in a deep breath and then let it out in an exhausted sigh as she began to shake her head.  Just looking at Joe  the comparison with his father at the same age was stark.  His father had been a young marine just back from the war. They had bought a house while his father took night courses and she had been pregnant with their first child. Then there was Joe and she couldn't help but reflect on God's sick sense of humor. At least his his sisters were pretty enough and savvy enough to set up shop in someone else's life.<br/><br/>"What are you going to do today?", She said turning away from him to pour herself a cup of coffee.