Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl

by Andrea Lawlor

Diane’s mind was elsewhere a frustrating fifty-one percent of the time, by Paul’s reckoning, and she wanted him in the elsewhere with her.

Men and women alike confounded Paul; they were so rule-bound. Straight people seemed confused by each other, so anxious to find camaraderie within their gender, so startled by differences between their bodies, always pinning explanations for the inevitable gulf between humans on chromosomes.

The street had that stage-set emptiness that brought to mind thoughts of Stephen Sondheim.

Robin was more a portal than a person; if Paul could get through Robin he’d know something new on the other side.