Author's Note: The line about hyacinths is from Eliot's "The Waste Land".

Habit; 37

The cardinal rule in dealing with Seishirou-san is this: don't care. Expect the unexpected and then move on without making a fuss. Everything is cleaner that way.

You gave me hyacinths first a year ago, I think, setting the lilacs in the sink. He asks if I'll put them in a bowl later, and I promise to. I intend to break the promise and to throw the flowers out, though I don't even hint at it.

He offers me dinner, and I accept, not because I'm hungry but because he'll fuck me afterwards. Don't care, I remind myself. Don't care.