"
"Well----" I began.
"I was sick of his lecturing, so I said, 'Larry, you'll have to do
like me--have everything there is, and get over it, and then you
won't need to worry.'"
I sat still, staring at her; I think I must have stopped breathing.
At the end of an eternity, I said, "You've not really had any of
these diseases, Claire?"
"Who hasn't?" she countered.
Again there was a pause. "You know," I observed, "some of them are
dangerous----"
"Oh, of course," she answered, lightly. "There's one that makes your
nose fall in and your hair fall out--but you haven't seen anything
like that happening to me!"
"But there's another," I hinted--"one that's much more common." And
when she did not take the hint, I continued, "Also it's more serious
than people generally realize."
She shrugged her shoulders. "What of it? Men bring you these
things, and it's part of the game. So what's the use of bothering?"
9. There was a long silence; I had to have time to decide what
course to take. There was so much that I wanted to get from her, and
so much that I wanted to hide from her!
"I don't want to bore you, Claire," I began, finally, "but really
this is a matter of importance to you.
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