Jonathan Goldstein

Like most, I can lie upwards of 10,000 times a day.

It helps ease the friction of getting through life.

People ask how I am and I say fine.

Does this jumpsuit make my ass look fat?

And I say no.

and so on, lying all the day long until bedtime, at which point I'm not sure the lying stops.

I can probably lie in my dreams.

In other words, I hold lying to be the greatest gift God gave to man.

But even with all of our lies and best intentions, we still can't escape hurting one another.

I don't think Isabel is a cruel woman, but I do think she knows that hurting people and being hurt is the price one pays for being human.

In spite of their similar childhoods, Isabel and Christina see the world so differently.

Christina is a dreamer, and for her, the best possible world is the one that's always just out of reach.

But for Isabelle, it's not about pursuing the best possible world at all.

It's about making the best of this world, the one you're stuck in, and, evidently, with the people you're stuck with.

Isabel pauses, and then she says appraisingly, She deserves a good life.

I'll get on that side.

We say our goodbyes and head to the car.

Outside Isabelle's, the parking lot has grown dark.

Yeah.

As we get into the rental car, Christina lets out a sigh.