Over the years I really enjoyed expanding Susan’s character. She’s not a dynamic wild nutty person like most of the lot, but she’s sweet and interesting and I always liked her.
That was me far too many times in my 20s, embarassed to say “yes” to invitations. I have no idea why really, but it was lousy.
See, there’s the problem, if emotions are interpretable, you need to use your reason to interpret them — a faculty I find entirely biased.
Sometimes even recluses just need a little shove. Sometimes that’s what they’re waiting for.
Buuutttt…. sometimes it’s not. :)
I like that I wrote him mature enough to take this conversation in stride. Though you can see it pains him a bit.
In high school I asked my english teacher for something less “literature-y,” to which he recommended Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth, The Collector by John Fowles, and Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow. He and butted heads a LOT, but he was a good force in my life.