Please I’m not SILENT I’m Judith’s hype woman
Let’s! Behead! Generals!
Tyler:
Wow and you pretend not to be bloodthirsty
Me:
Only bloodthirsty for evil generals
Never for nice friendly whales
Did you know sperm whales are matriarchal and the ladies live with their calves in a nice family group
Tyler:
They oust the boys?? Jesus they’re like the Nantucket sailor girls
Me:
They don’t OUST the boys the boys want to do their own thing, like the whaler boys
And they let the boys back to sleep with them
Tyler:
Mm yes like the Nantucket sailor’s girl
Me:
Don’t knock a good thing
Tyler:
So scandalous, Shira Barbanel
I bit back a wide smile. Because Tyler made me feel scandalous, and playful, and capable of being ridiculous and sexy and fun.
Energy I needed to bring to my interactions with Isaac.
I headed into the hall, toward the room where Isaac was staying. My feet slowed as I approached the door, and I made myself take a huge breath. Okay. Isaac probably wouldn’t scream in horror at my presence. I knocked.
Isaac opened it.
For a moment I forgot to breathe, but then mustered up a smile. “Hey, Isaac. What are you up to?”
“Hey. Catching up on some reading.” He nodded at a thick textbook on the bed. “What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. You know.” I took a deep breath, then forced it out. Okay. As Tyler had told me, no one was going to be insulted that someone wanted to hang out with them. Even if Isaac didn’t want to, it would be flattering, not an insult, not something I needed to hide. “I was planning on going for a walk—if you wanted to join? See the beach? If you wanted to see more of Nantucket or whatever.”
His face brightened. “Sure.”
Sure.I had asked Isaac to do something and I hadsucceeded.Victory!
I hadn’t precisely thought about what would happen after I succeeded, though. In my daydreams, I went from a silent infatuation with Isaac Lehrer to a steady, lasting relationship. These intermediary steps felt deeply wonky. “We can cut through the back.”
We suited up and stepped outside. Though early afternoon, the sun had disappeared behind the trees, washing the sky with pale streaks of colors. Pinkish lilac colored the horizon, faint and rare, peeking between the barren tree limbs.
