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61 Child A woman is putting her child to sleep. The room is dark. The child will not settle down. Despite the woman’s reassuring words, the child gropes for the mother’s body with a fearful whimpering. Along the road a motorcycle issues a loud purr. It’s late and for a moment the woman is angered by the rider’s thoughtlessness. Silently, the mother protests: such a sound will disturb so many children just drifting off to sleep. Stretching out beside the child, the mother imagines just what the biker feels. Immediately she understands that tonight she would accept his offer. Black velvet air, wind, turns and straight aways and then taut skin. So many phantom sensations percolate. Lifting the child’s limp sleeping arm off her leg, she is surprised that she feels more immediate compassion for the man than she does for her own child. ...

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