She stops at this, unsure whether to go on or not.

His grades weren’t terrible, actually. I mean … yes, not great … but for a second-year Senior who had been to the office practically every day of his life and a person who had no assistance at home whatsoever and probably also had some kind of behavior disorder—he wasn’t bi-polar or ADHD, or anything like that, but he was definitely one of those people who could change the temperature in a classroom just by staring out the window or asking a question or, you know, making a face … a face like … you know … like this. (She attempts to re-create “the face.”) That face that says “Man, this sucks …” (Beat.) I mentioned Eric a minute ago, didn’t I? Said his name, at least, without saying who he is or … sorry! I do that on occasion, not that I mean to, or … I’m not scattered, I’m definitely not that—I’ve received two different citations for my teaching over the years, and one of them was city-wide—but, yes, I can be a little forgetful sometimes. Or get off on a tangent … like I am right now. Sorry! (Beat.) “Eric.” My husband. (Beat.) He’s of mixed-race … not that this is how I see him or think of him or whatnot … I don’t … not firstly, anyhow, but it’s something that he’s very … what’s the right way to … he takes a certain pride in it. I think he does … maybe now more than he did when I first met him. Eric is quick to point it out and wears it around a bit. Not, like, in your face, I don’t mean that, but since the last few elections … there is a kind of … well, you know what I’m saying. (Beat.) He certainly used it along the way … during college and admission to law school, with some loans or … not even that … not for loans but the other ones, the what-do-you-call-ems? Umm … the free ones …? (Considering.) Grants. He received quite a few grants in his time for government funds … as a result of his being “mixed” or a person of color. God … it all changes so quickly and so often … what we can call a person who’s … Negro was the one we used at first—right or wrong, it was widely accepted—then “black” and then everything had to be “African-American” for a long time, and now we’re back to “black” again. People who are that—black, I mean—they use a number of other phrases for themselves as well, including the “N” word, all the time … over and over, and as they do, they kind of look at you as they do it, almost sort of defiantly … to see if we’re going to say anything. I say “we” meaning white people, I suppose, but it’s anyone who’s not black that I really mean. They do it in restaurants or on the train … when they see each other as a greeting or when they start laughing and telling a story about someone, or when they get mad as well … apparently it’s totally fine if they do it … and I mean in any context. Ever.