Brain Damage

by Freida McFadden

The truth is, I haven’t met a guy yet whose company I enjoyed better than the peace of my own home. Why wreck something that’s already perfect?

A year isn’t that long though. Obama was president during my last date. It isn’t like it’s been decades or something. It’s just a short dry spell.

Most people don’t know it, but psoriasis causes more depression than most other medical conditions, including cancer. Having scales on your skin, especially for a young woman like Regina Barry, results in a tremendous loss of self-esteem.

“I know it’s all your fault, Dr. McKenna,” Mr. Barry says, sticking his face in mine. “And believe me, I’m going to make you pay.” I’m going to make you pay.

I feel like I could just drink water all day. I could drink the ocean. And not just a small ocean, like the Arctic Ocean. I could drink the Pacific.

I keep trying to remember things that happened before. The memories are still there, but are covered by a hazy cloak. It’s like waking up from a dream and trying to remember what happened during the dream. I remember things like having dinner in a restaurant with Clark, or putting these long dangling earrings in my ears, or trying to hail a taxi in the rain. But if I try to grab any piece of it, it’s not quite there.

I’m a woman in my mid-thirties—it’s hard to maintain celibacy in a relationship, even if that’s what I wanted. And I don’t want that. I mean, if you’ve been in a desert for a year, and you finally come across a stream of water, do you say, “No, I’m going to wait six months before I have any?” No way. You’d take a drink!

I notice that Mr. Leroy is still standing in front of the restaurant. Staring at me.

you?”

Goddamn i hate Clark... Why couldnt he be the one to get shot???

Goodbye, Jamie. Thank you for being my friend when I didn’t even know who I was. Thank you for turning my tray around during meals. Thank you for making me feel attractive again, even if it was just for a short time. Thank you for saving my goddamn life, whatever it’s worth.

And then one day, I looked up and I saw the most beautiful violet eyes I’d ever seen in my life. And it was like everything got clear all of a sudden.”