Still Small

Lydia’s never gotten taller, is the thing. It was one of those running jokes—would she actually stay that small? Among friends, between drinks, the kind of thing you wonder about someone. And the answer, now that she’s eighteen, is yes. She’s exactly the size she was going to be, and apparently everyone’s okay with that now.

But the height was never really the point. What makes Lydia actually interesting is that she knows what she wants and she takes it. That confidence about desire—that’s rare. Most people spend their whole lives apologizing for wanting things.

She’s got someone now, and they’re tearing around together. I don’t know all the details, but there’s talk of Brazil eventually, some veranda life in the sun. It’s a good ending for someone like her. The girl everyone used to stare at for the wrong reasons is just going to go off and live her life somewhere warm, and she doesn’t much care what anyone thinks about it.

Good luck, Lyd.