Mallory loved thinking of the woman as selfish because she felt it granted herself permission to be selfish; the woman’s willingness to behave badly, even in middle age, absolved Mallory of a lot of guilt. Now, the woman’s drunken remorse made Mallory feel as though she needed to protect this person—this woman—from something. She didn’t know how to take care of the woman. She knew only how to take care of herself.
