From Heartbreak, Mourning, Loss. Volume One, Detach or Die
The cashmere label
Early in our relationship, my girlfriend gave me a very expensive black cashmere coat. She wanted me to tell everybody at work that it was her gift to me.
But I had asked her to keep our relationship a secret because my supervisor is a jealous type who tried to seduce her. I would lose my job if he were to find out. Nevertheless, she kept insisting that our love was worth the risk (by which she meant the risk of losing my job.) I was supposed to “honor” our relationship enough to make it public.
Yet in private, she was not so hot about me, as if our relationship was to be either a public affair or not at all! In public, she acted as if I was a good catch, but in private she had very little desire for sexual intimacy.
The more she insisted on our coming out as partners, the more I recoiled from it, until I broke up with her. I gave her back the cashmere coat, to give to her next glorious catch.
