Losing Helen
John Burnside: A Memoir, 24 April 2008
“... She smiled. ‘Too young,’ she said; then she carried her crockery to the table by the serving hatch, set it down and disappeared. I knew where she was going and I could have followed her, but I didn’t. In some dim corner of my mind, I understood her and it occurred to me that I hadn’t really wanted to ask her out, it was just that I didn’t know what ... ”