“Oh,” said Brigid tonelessly. “Thank you both so very much for the lovely presents.” She turned as if to walk back to the door.
Jen took her wrist and stopped her. “Don’t, Brigid. It’s true.”
“No, I am afraid that it is not. I am capable of looking in the mirror. I know what I see there, and it is nothing like what I see in front of me. And while I do not always understand why people think the rather unexpected things that they do, I do watch how they behave. I do not know about Rhea, I suppose, but Gabe never acted toward me as if he found me at all sexually attractive, nor, Jack, did you. Nor did Tony, which rather hurt.”
“Brigid,” whispered Jen, “he did, he —”
“Men who fancy women generally do not do everything that they can to avoid f*****g those women.”
“Brigid, sweetheart,” Jen
