Elsewhere

by Gabrielle Zevin

“Thank you. That feels much better.” The dog snorts with pleasure. “So, you said you were lonely and you hate it here?” Liz nods again. “My advice to you is to stop being lonely and to stop hating it here. That always works for me,” says the dog. “Oh, and be happy! It’s easier to be happy than to be sad. Being sad takes a lot of work. It’s exhausting.”

And the truth is, intimacy doesn’t have all that much to do with backseats of cars. Real intimacy is brushing your teeth together.”