ACROSS FROM the Public Garden, outside the Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School, they pass a young man leaning against an iron fence, sobbing like a child. He stands with his arm against the fence, resting his head on his arm, and sobs. His shoulders shake, and he can barely catch his breath between sobs. Liz slows, seems to want to stop. Matthew clamps her arm against him and moves her along, firmly.
“He was crying,” whispers Liz. “Just standing there crying.”
“I know.”
“He was a young guy.”
“I think he’s just drunk,” says Matthew.
“He probably is, but he was just standing there, crying.”
“Maybe his sweetie left him,” says Matthew, and he doesn’t regret saying it. Let her draw her own conclusions. Let her know how much she hurt him. She should know.
[to be continued]
In Topical Guide 496, Mark Dorset considers Places, Real: Boston Public Garden; Personages, Historical: Katherine Gibbs; and Emotions, Responses to: Crying from this episode.
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