I go to see my shrink. Eugene and I are meeting for coffee—our first face-to-face. I look forward to wise counsel from Lydia Bascombe.

L. BASCOMBE: How did you two meet?

ME: On Cinder. I set up a profile and he was the only respondent. Well, the only one that didn’t respond with vicious, expletive-filled misogyny.

L. BASCOMBE: Cinder? Isn’t that a hook-up site? Is that what you were you looking for, Lucy—someone to have sex with?

ME: At the time, yes.

L. BASCOMBE: Isn’t that a little slutty of you?

ME: I prefer to think of it as taking care of my own needs. It’s not easy living a celibate existence when you are twenty-eight.

L. BASCOMBE: But you’ve seen where sluttiness gets you, Lucy. You’ve already been raped. Do you want to go through that again?

ME: I hope it’s not as inevitable as that. Not everyone who goes on Cinder gets raped.

L. BASCOMBE: You’ve arranged to meet up with a man you’ve never met before with the express intention of having sex with him. You’re practically asking for it, aren’t you?

ME: As I say, I went into this initially because I wanted to find a sex partner. But Eugene has the potential to be more than that. He is proper relationship material. Maybe even my future husband.

L. BASCOMBE: What do you like about him?

ME: He is intelligent and cultured and has good taste. He is a feminist ally. He has strong ties to the community and seems to be well loved by his friends and family. He is a vegan.

L. BASCOMBE: Are you a vegan, Lucy?

ME: No.

L. BASCOMBE: Are you planning to become one?

ME: No.

L. BASCOMBE: Are you even a vegetarian?

ME: No.

L. BASCOMBE: Then why is his veganism something that you like about him?

ME: I don’t know. It sounds impressive. It makes him seem sensitive and committed and . . . and like a good person. To be so concerned about the welfare of animals that you won’t even eat eggs.

L. BASCOMBE: But does he value human beings? Or does his sensitivity stop at animals?

ME: Like I said, he’s a feminist ally. He posts quotes from Toni Morrison.

L. BASCOMBE: America’s conscience. What about South Africa? Does he care about local issues too?

ME: Oh, yes. He reads The DailyVox, and everything.

L. BASCOMBE: Then go forth and Godspeed. May fortune attend your wooing.

* * *

L. Bascombe didn’t call me a slut to my face, but that’s what she was thinking. How do I know? By the way she tightened her lips when I told her I’d signed up for Cinder. From the way she asked me whether I was sure I was “ready” for a relationship.