“Bridget was stunned and a little irritated. She was used to a constant exchange of friends and lovers, and the idea that one of these relationships might be considered permanent struck her as inconsiderate. It went against the way they were all trying to live: stepping lightly on this earth, skirting the folly of human certainty. That night, she and Angela went out for drinks. They sat in an outdoor courtyard eating tiny meatballs and cockles in tomato sauce. Angela’s blond brain nestled against her neck. She and Bridget had once showered together, had swum naked together at a beach in Stiges. Angela’s flesh was so pale that if you pressed a finger to her thigh the skin blushed dark pink, as if embarrassed by the touch. Now she was drinking cheap Rioja, her teeth turning purple. ‘I’m going to enroll in an education program and get certified to teach kindergarten,’ she was saying. ‘Hans will work with my father once his paperwork is settled. The business is very secure. Like my father always says, empires may rise and fall but people still need lightbulbs.’”
—Alix Ohlin