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Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.

Maybe there were no villains in my mother’s story at all. Just men and women, trying to do their best by each other. And failing.

"He tells a story, and that’s what I like. Does this fella tell a story? He doesn’t spend twenty pages describing the colour of the sky?"

The belief that I would spend the rest of my time on earth lying to people weighed heavily on me and at such times I gave serious consideration to taking my own life.

‘What’s a pervert?’ I asked.
‘It’s someone who’s a sex maniac,’ he explained.
‘Oh.’
‘I’m going to be a pervert when I grow up,’ he continued.
‘So am I,’ I said, eager to please. ‘Perhaps we could be perverts together.’
****
‘I’ve never even heard of President Eisaflower,’ said Bridget with a shrug.
‘Eisenhower,’ I said.
‘Eisaflower,’ she repeated.
‘That’s it,’ I said.
****
‘Is that supposed to be a joke?’ she asked.
‘It was,’ I admitted. ‘As I heard the words coming out of my mouth, they sounded less amusing than I thought they would.’
‘Some people just shouldn’t try to be funny.’