The same thing happened this time. After running out in the storm, despite Glen’s protests, she drove around aimlessly until she was too exhausted to continue without crashing, parked on a side street, and fell asleep. In the morning, she was subdued and returned to Glen’s side. And as always, Glen said nothing.

* * *

It’s as you said: I’m emotionally repressed. More than ten years ago, I was repressed with Jianjun as well, and it was Glen who opened me up. But now I’m repressed with him.

The secret talker said he’d always known she was a dangerous woman. He had a good eye for women like her. His daughter was dangerous too. In her eyes, the world suddenly became laughable and contemptible.

He had watched her pass between two identical two-story buildings, then through a vast parking lot, her shoulders tilted a little to the left, a habit left over from when she’d carried a rifle on her back. The shopping mall had seven or eight chain stores, five fast food chains, three chain banks, a chain supermarket, and a chain gas station. Like most malls in this country, the walls were painted pale pastel colors, the ceiling a swathe of ocean blue.

What distinguishes America is that it’s made up of these indistinguishable chains.

You put a couple of coins into the machine and took a newspaper, the secret talker wrote. Then you froze, staring at the shopping mall in front of you crouching stupidly, hideously on the horizon. What damned architect designed this squat building? You couldn’t remember which city you were in; it could have been anywhere in the US. The chain stores crisscrossed the whole country, chaining everyone up, erasing individuality—individuality was dangerous. The chains made everyone march in step, which was easier. The safe, chained people sat, obese, in the setting sun, enjoying the pleasure of not communicating. Talking carried too much risk. How many people could survive the cut and thrust of conversation, the pinprick of truth? How strong, how intelligent, how positive would the survivors need to be? Look how secure people are in the embrace of chains. Even the pigeons seemed at ease, waddling happily around the outdoor seating. This scene was absurd, hideous. You suddenly remembered how hard you’d chased after this more than a decade ago. The last time you went back to your hometown, you told the children that America had countless malls, each the size of the little village. That kind of material excess was beyond those children’s imagination.

His words were filled with a disgust that hadn’t been there before.