Then the birds went nuts and chirped incessantly and he said, Excuse Me! but he yelled it really and they went even more nuts and so did he.

She sat him down, and told him she was leaving him. I know, he said. And she got up and opened the door and left. He always knew everything.

One more, he says, even as his friends pull him away. Just one, he says. They let go. And she slaps him again, drawing blood. Good, he says.