Morgan Thomas has written this story with perceptive nuance, creating a narrator that the reader must look around in order to see the truth of Alta and Cory’s dynamic. Every detail in this opening scene at the dry cleaner is important, laying the groundwork for what is to come. Thomas positions the moment when Cory privately exoticises Alta as the seed of their friendship. But what sort of friendship can grow from such a planting? The differences in what Cory, Alta, Thomas, and the reader understand as the answer to that question make for a rich and rewarding read.
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