but I have no mind for business and considered staying awake to be enough of an accomplishment. - David Sedaris

On several occasions during my visit, she referred to herself as poor, and that depressed me. Most people would say they're broke. That word suggests a temporary setback. Poor, on the other hand, conveys a permanence.

The thought of killing myself had slowed me down to five miles per hour. The thought of killing someone else stopped me completely.

I laid my hand over hers on the desktop and then looked down at it, thinking what a great poster this would make. "Togetherness," it might read. I'd expected electricity to pass mutually between us, but all I really felt was self-conscious, and disappointed that more people weren't looking on.