"I... I blow my nose in the shower," she said. He stood up. "I... really?" he said. He leaned away just a little bit.

"I... yes." She sighed. "I didn't want to tell you. It's just... I've done it since I was a little girl."

"That's not exactly the point." He blinked several times.

"I'm not trying," she said, "to make some point. I'm just trying to explain. I discovered that I could, um, do it when I was little. And then I didn't have to pick my nose very much, because I, uh, got rid of it in the shower in the morning. And then I wouldn't get in trouble with Mom and Dad."

"Aw, God," he said. He blinked and scrunched up his face, and his breath rate increased.

"I wash my hands afterward! Right then, in the shower, before I touch anything else, I swear. I'm so sorry, I didn't know that this was so important to you!"

"It's not... you couldn't have known. I don't talk about it." He picked up his coat. "It's just... blowing her nose in the shower killed my mother." One sob escaped his mouth before he made it out the door.