Pete entered Room 5. The setup was always the same. Small TV. Porno movie in the VCR. Dozens of what his father would call girlie magazines. Equipment. He argued with himself for a full five minutes. I don't want to do this again. I can't do this anymore. You have to do it. If you don't, the next semester is gone. Just close your eyes and do it. No. Yes. In the end, he lost the argument. He unzipped and turned on the VCR.

In the building next to the sperm bank, Lily Madison entered the egg donor clinic for her last session. She looked at her watch, knowing she only had an hour. She hoped that day would go as quickly as her other sessions. She closed her eyes, trying to imagine what she was going to feel when she picked up her last check for $6,000. Relief? Guilt? Satisfaction that her last semester was going to be paid for. Maybe all three. When she left after graduation, she would never ever come back to this place. Never, ever.

Lily adjusted her homemade denim hat with the big sunflower on it as she walked through the swinging doors. For some reason, wearing a hat gave her confidence and courage. She'd tried to explain it to her roommates, but they just laughed at her. They said she wore hats because she hated her kinky, curly hair. Maybe it was both. Her head up, she marched to the desk and signed in as Donor 1114. Within minutes she was whisked into an examining room.

When it was all over, Lily dressed and sighed with relief. She could leave the place and never come back. Her eyes filled with tears. How weird was that? She swiped them away as she walked toward the payment window. She handed the clerk the slip the doctor had given her and waited. She almost swooned when the check was in her hand. She thought about buying a bottle of wine and drinking it all by way of celebrating the end of this. . .this. . .experience in her life. It was such a stupid thought, she chased it out of her mind. From here on, what had transpired over the past months was a memory. A memory she could think about or forget about. It's no big deal, she told herself as she walked out into the late-afternoon sunshine.

Her thoughts all over the map, she didn't see him until she landed on the ground, and a hand was outstretched to help her up. "You knocked me down," Lily said inanely.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I mean it, I'm really sorry. Are you all right? Can I do anything for you?" He smiled, and Lily was charmed.

"I like your hat!"

"I made it."

"Wow! Are you sure you're okay?"

He sounds like he cares if I'm all right or not. She nodded and held out her hand. "Lily."