“I was afraid to make love to her without the conversations and laughter from the false universe playing in our ears, because I didn’t want to get to

“I was afraid to make love to her without the conversations and laughter from the false universe playing in our ears, because I didn’t want to get to know her very well, and didn’t want to be bridging any silences with our eyes.”

-Denis Johnson

I feel this is exactly what a man would say. Here, Denis Johnson says he is afraid to get to know a woman very well. Why do men think that way? Why are women seen as scary creatures from the underworld who are impossible to understand? We're not impossible to understand we just portray our emotions, thoughts, and feelings more outwardly than men. Believe it or not, men have strong emotions too. Men are sensitive too. Heck, at times, men can be even more sensitive than women. The second part of the quote throws me off. Why would they be bridging silences with their eyes? Does this mean Denis wanted to get down and dirty? Did he just want to make love to her quickly, and then just leave? Silence in the eyes reminds me of when you are having a conversation and you can tell someone is hiding something from you, or not telling you something. It reminds me of the saying "I can see it in her eyes." Something she has inside but she won't tell me. Did Denis not want to sit down and get to know her better? The story was confusing because Michelle seemed like she was being thrown around like a play thing. First, it talked about Michelle and Denis in the abortion clinic, then at the end Michelle is given to another man, John Smith. And then somehow in the very end, she winds up dead.

-Peenaz Devani