Who’s that? he asks. Ellis, I say. Were you together? I think so, I say. We were then. Where was it taken? In France, in the South. You look cool. We do, don’t we? Was he your first love? Yes. Only one, probably. Is he dead? Oh God no. (Oh God no, not everyone dies, I want to say to him.) Where’s he now? In Oxford. He has a wife. Annie. Do you still see him? No, I say. He looks at me. Why? Because . . . (And I realize I don’t know how to answer this.) Because we lost contact. I lost contact. You could get back in contact. Yes. I could. Don’t you want him to know about this? Are you ashamed?
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