Chapter 5

This is the truth and reality of why we no longer get along. This is the disdainful details of my relationship with him. The ripping apart of our once-tender companionship.

* * * *

I tell Dr. Lewis, “Kasey and I are down by the river because it’s a beautiful springtime evening. We lay on a blanket in our trunks. There are too many mosquitoes. Our hands never touch. I study his hard nipples as the summer sun falls. I count his abs again: one…two…three…four…five…six. Dapples of sweat bubble on his skin. A narrow line of hair falls into his trunks, beneath his dimpled navel.

“The river is choppy, unsafe, and dirty to swim in. Everyone who lives in the city knows this. We honestly have no intention of swimming in that filth. We agree to spend quality time together next the river. Nothing more. Nothing less.

“He talks about a World War II military plane that crashed into the Ohio River, and pieces are still at the bottom of the river, mud-covered.

“I reach for his hand.