We’ll role play. I’ll tell him to pretend I’m you. Then I’ll start doing all the things you did to him, exactly the way you did them. I’ll walk him through it. At some point he’ll either say, “Yes!” or he’ll say, “No, Kathleen would never have done that.” And if he says that—”

Kathleen thinks about it. “You’re holding a knife.”

“That’s right.”

“You’re not going to make me take off my clothes, are you?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“The kiss.”

“What kiss?”

“I don’t care to see you naked, and shouldn’t have to if you give me a proper explanation of how you had sex. But you won’t be able to explain how you kissed him. That’s something you’ll have to demonstrate.”

“How?”

“By kissing me, and pretending I’m Creed.”

“That’s ridiculous! I could never do that.”

“You’ll be amazed what you can do if I insist. And I will.”

“But…you’re gay.”

“You’re just saying that because my sexual history has been influenced by gender confusion. But don’t think for a minute I’ll enjoy kissing you, because I’d rather lick the scab off a dead dog’s foreskin.”

Kathleen winces with disgust.

Callie says, “Kissing you is research. Nothing else.”

“How long is this going to take?”

“That’s up to you.”

They kiss. Tentatively, at first, but after a few minutes Kathleen gets caught up in it. By the time Callie’s satisfied with the experiment, Kathleen’s face and neck are flushed.

“Lie on the bed and show me your moves,” Callie says.

A very mortified Kathleen demonstrates the various positions and tries to convey the pillow talk as best she can, but it’s coming across like a third-grader’s current events report.

“I’m not impressed,” Callie says.

Kathleen shrugs.

They go back to Kathleen’s den and sit. Callie pulls her phone from her jeans’ pocket and presses the notebook app.

“What now?” Kathleen says.

“Q and A.”

“You’re joking.”

“Question number one. Tell me about the first time you had sex with Creed. Leave nothing out.”

Kathleen shakes her head. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“What doesn’t?”

“You can’t just clinically analyze the magic that occurred between two people and try to reproduce it.”

“How do you know? Have you ever tried?”

“No, of course not. But you should just be yourself.”

“Being yourself is another way of saying you didn’t bother to prepare.”

“What do you mean?”

“This is the big difference between you and me, Kathleen. It’s why I’m better for him than you. Creed is easy to catch, but hard to keep. Somehow—don’t ask me how—you managed to catch him. But you blew it. You tried to keep him by just being yourself. Creed is a goal to achieve. A mountain to scale. A prize to not only win but hold on to. I’m willing to put in the time and effort necessary to give him the best me I can be. But to do that, I need to know everything about him.”

“And if you learn things you don’t like?”

“I’ll uncover them during the discovery phase, and practice dealing with them in advance.