She gave me enough time topack a small bag of clothes, and get out the window, before I heard thedoor smash in. I never looked back that night, unti...l I heard sirens.The last thing I saw of my apartment was a column of smoke rising, withan orange glow at its base. I want to think she got out, but I wasn'tabout to check." Since then, I've been going from town to town, trying to find a placewhere I could fit in. Most of the time, someone nice would offer me somefood, but I never let it go. I'm so embarrassed." She sobbed. "All I want is someone I can love who'll love me. Someone like you. Why can't I have that?"I sat Nika on the edge of the bed and retrieved her robe, wrapping it around her. Then I sat next to her with my arm around her shoulders. She buried her face in my chest and the tears flowed. The irony of the situation hit me. I'd held Isidora in almost the same way many months ago."Nika, do you know what I wish?" No." She sniffled"I wish there could be two of me. One to. Deb then looks at the TV and says “Who’s that?” I explain the story about my first ‘sort of’ professional photo shoot up to the point of taking these photos. Em picks up the remote again and scrolls through the shots. At the bottom of the screen there’s a folder marked ‘Private’. “What’s this then?” says Em, as she clicks on it. “It says private Em,” says Deb. “Perhaps you’re not meant to look.” A password prompt appears on the screen. “Don’t be silly,” replies Em as she looks at me. I. "I don't want makeup."You were a good boy before, I'll make a deal with you.He paused, hands clenching. "I'm listening."You gave me grief when I made you wear a dress or skirt. But I won. Youdidn't want to wear heels, but I won. Now we're going to work on makeupand we both know I will win. But this time I will give you a real chance."How?"When you automatically began choosing skirts and dresses, I didn't botheryou for almost a week. Remember?"Yeah."And except when you tried to go off the diet I.