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I don’t think I was ever like Caroline, though Never privileged like her, confident ofI could pluck out of the nest and take home I’ve always known the world isn’t fine, that it’s broken, that it fails you when you least expect it to

When you know that, it’s easier to take the blows Autoo away," she says softly "Not by myself Not without …"

"Not without what?"

Her nose wrinkles "Telling s, potentially But mainly there’s this company you can hire to scrub your naines But it’s expensive"

"Ah"

"Yeah"

"That sucks"

"It does"

"So what else is new?"

She blinks at e of subject "Not h in her direction "You want to try this?"

"No, thanks"

"C’mon, I’ll show you how"

"Thank you, but no I think my talents lie elsewhere"

She sounds so much like the old Caroline that I almost sain

"Have you thought about anything at all besides naked pictures since they first popped up … when, early last ust twenty-fourth" She tilts her head, considering "Yes"

"What else have you been thinking about?"

Caroline peers into the clean er inside the bowl and traces the curve of it--the curve I polished until it was shiny enough to attract her attention--I don’t tell her to stop, even though I’ll have to clean it again after she goes

She can touch whatever she wants

"My constitutional law class Latin ho up Whetherhim How to cover up the circles under my eyes Rape Evil Whether law school adle applicants or just in special circuet the space between my teeth fixed The usual"

"Sure you don’t want to pile on a fewnewspaper circulations?"

She aluess I’ot three years of undergrad before I can start med school, followed by four years to becoist, and then years of hard work to build a practice I’ve got three jobs, Frankie to think about, Mom to take care of

Maybe what I can have of Caroline is this little slice of space and light in the darkest hours of the night I can give her per her Distract her from her problems

If she wants to come here, I’ll do all that, but I won’tto baresoul to her

"My ears, mostly," I say "You really think they’re too s to look self-conscious It works--she sap between her teeth kills ue

"Are you sure they’re full-grown?" she asks "Because ht be a few years beforein Maybe it’s the sarowth spurt Grow some manlier ears"

"It’s possible"

"You knohat they say, though S equipment"

"That is so not what they say"

"No? Maybe it’s only in Oregon they say that"

She laughs, a husky sound I don’t like how it slips overit away in the stroke book for later--Caroline laughing as I unhook her bra Still s when I take off those shapeless sweatpants and see what she’s got on underneath What she looks like naked

You already knohat she looks like naked

Everybody does

I shake off the whole train of thought Doesn’tbetween her and h," I say "There’s all this other shit you could be worrying about, and you’re wasting tooover the size of your ears isn’t going to fill much of my time I’ll still have, like, twenty-three and a half hours a day to worry in"

"What are you saying, you only care about my ears half an hour’s worth?"

"Maybe not even that I have to be honest with you"

"Please Be honest"

"Okay The thing is, if I never have to see another guy’s ears so long as I live? I’ll be a happy girl"

"Now you’re starting to sound bitter"

"Maybe I am bitter Maybe I’ve just seen waaaay too many close-ups of ears lately"

"Red, swollen ears?"