I’m in a dream, trapped in a never-ending dream, where each scene is better than the last; there can be no other explanation but this. That’s why I was able to talk so freely to Gabe even when words threatened to choke me, and things that would usually send me running for cover seemed not so embarrassing, like Gabe seeing me naked or Gabe giving me a bath.

I think part of that came from his own reaction. He didn’t seem as Gabe-like as usual, not his manly bossy self. In fact, he ...