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Growing Up: The Sequel“I packed my life into a duffel bag, bought a standby ticket, and showed up at the Albuquerque airport, I Ching in hand.” | Forty years later, Meredith returned, looking for answers in the place that defined her idealism. Upper MarketSpending time with Neil and Sarah was kind of morbid, like watching an accident while your own car is spinning wildly out of control. But it was reassuring in a way, too. The gruesome wrongness of their union made her feel better about the odds of her own. A More Muscular DemonThe only appetite she had was for answers. She is as much an alcoholic and addict as any man or woman living on the streets of South Norwalk, she mused. She has rehab release papers to prove it. Why, she wondered, was she given another chance, and why were they not? A Question of RealityHe was 22, a naïve English major wending his way through college in six years while supporting himself with work. Carol was 28, divorced, with two small children, back at school part-time to finish her degree. She was tall, pretty, shapely, and flirtatious. They found each other quickly. Worth the WaitAfter 45 minutes – late to his own birthday party – Marty came downstairs, escorting Janet, a woman Lawrence had met six months before and found so attractive. Lawrence was sure Marty had been making love with her – Lawrence certainly would have been, given the opportunity. Running for Our LivesThe tsunami is going to hit in five minutes and all she can think, all she can ever think anymore, is that it is about time for Robert to propose. She’d finally realized that it felt much easier to obsess about details like “strapless or with sleeves?” than the alternative. BordersBefore crossing the border, she asked Vince if they shouldn’t pool their money, at least see how much they had. She counted it twice: “$27.32.” “Well,” he responded, “we can either eat like horses and sleep in the truck, or we can get a hotel room, screw like bunnies, and go hungry.” The Girl I Didn’t Want to HurtShe began that summer as a single woman with a lot of sexual curiousity to burn. She was fed up with her aching dependence on men and had sworn off of them, much like every other girl she knew who’d been taken on a roller coaster ride by the opposite sex. Beauty and the ButchShe tried to imagine what her date would look like. Her feminine voice made her imagine a petite woman. Maybe the woman was as nervous and inexperienced as she. She was intimidated by girls who included sexy shots. She was intimidated by girls period. Notes on First LoveIt burned. This was the first surprise. Until that day, he was accustomed only to soft, creamy flesh framing the mouths upon which his lips landed. That day, in his dormitory room, the mouth was surrounded by a short-bristle mat, which rubbed and scraped his face.  |
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