“

In Sugar Bowl at dinner, I was angling for some sympathy, so I told Simon that no one had ever really loved me. “Tough luck!” he said, and we both broke up laughing.

“

Everyone was running around as the scent of revolution was again in the air, although Stanley said to me, “We’ve both seen better revolutions in the old days.”

“

She’s never lied to me about orgasms, she said, although at times I almost drove her to do so. It occurred to me that maybe Simon sort of led his old girlfriend to fake her orgasms.

“

I think a couple of years ago, the criticism my story received in the MFA Workshop would have torn me up – but now I realize they’re only criticizing my story, not me.

“

Ronna told me that last night she dreamed she was in bed with both me and Ivan.