How to Be Alone: If You Want To, and Even If You Don't

by Lane Moore

told her my feet had been freezing and my hands were blue and I hadn’t even noticed. That I wished I could be like her. She was cold, she got a blanket. She was thirsty, she got water. She had to pee, she didn’t wait two hours until she was in physical pain and couldn’t hold it anymore, which I’ve always done and only recently realized was weird when I told a friend, “Yeah, I’ve had to pee for, like, two hours,” and they said simply, “Why???” I told her I wished I could need something and my brain would register that and immediately fill that need. She looked at me and said, “Lane, I’ve always wanted to have an apartment where people could feel at home. It means the world to me that I have this couch and these blankets to give you so you can feel warm and comfortable. Because I’m so glad we’re friends and I want you to feel at home here.”