his life seemed to revolve around his financial squeeze. It penetrated his stories, his conversations, his untold anguish. she wanted to help him but didnt want to wound his pride. she would give him gifts to make him happy and this ennobled her in his eyes. she immediately saw the difference and was both pleased and annoyed at the same time. He thought he was in love. he confessed that she was that haunting presence in his stories, the one that both tormented and fascinated him. she diverted his insistence, albeit with subtlety and discretion. she was also haunted by her past, her own insecurities and her compulsive need to buy friendship or attach monetary value to relationships. She was as much a product of inferiority as he was. maybe that was the common bond that drew them so close to each other.