Summary

Even after the affair is over, it has not ended. The lover stays inside him "like a sweet liquor" (20). Everything about him feels changed. He has been infected by her movements, "her smell, her voice" (20). The more time that passes, the more he fears losing the feeling of her, and what they shared. Now the memories are in his mind instead of his body. Sometimes he can retrieve the feeling in mental pictures. He remembers a day they went to a coffeehouse for breakfast. The space was white and clean, sharpening the color of her eyes, smile, hair, and clothes. The image is so sharp, he feels he may never lose the sensation. When the pictures come, he can remember things he thought he had forgotten.

One time while in bed, she asked him if she seemed fat (20). He was surprised she worried...