I Long For Another Human Face Just

Stay A Little While Longer, And Let Everyone Congratulate You - Including The Ones Who Clearly Don't Want To: In Fact, Especially The Ones Who Clearly Don't Want To. You Don't Have To Say Anything But 'thank You

Say Yes, Babe, Or I'll Spill You Off Over The Wall Next Time - Got It?

She Poured The Water, Arranged Some Bread Near Enough The Embers To Scorch But Not Catch Fire, And Looked Up At Little John. She Was So Accustomed To His Step, To His Bulk, That It Took A Moment To Notice His Face; And When She Did . . . It Was, She Thought, Rather Like The Moment It Took To Realize One Had Cut One's Finger As One Stared Dumbly At The First Drop Of Blood On The Knife-blade. You Know It Is Going To Hurt Quite A Lot In A Minute.

...but With The Hours I Sometimes Kept At The Coffeehouse I Had To Have Learned To Take Naps During The Day Or Die, And I Had Learned To Take Naps. Up Until Five Months Ago "something Or Other Or Die" Had Always Seemed Like A Plain Choice In Favor Of The Something Or Other.

Can You Trust Me, He Said. Not Will You. Can You. Can I Trust Him? What Do I Have To Lose?