East of Eve, Chapter 18

I've attached a pdf of chapters 1-18 to the bottom of this post :) Next chapters of The Reveries of Aaron Cooper, The Abatement of Kyle Trinter, and The Brat coming next! <3

Chapter 18

“Whoa…take it easy there!” chuckled Lauren, taking the bottle of whiskey from Eve, who had just gulped down a huge swig and was now coughing and sputtering as she sat cross-legged on Lauren’s bed.  “I thought you said you had, like…zero alcohol tolerance.”

“That’s right, zero,” Eve coughed, shaking her head as her eyes teared up from the whiskey.  “I just…ugghhhhh…I really just wanna be drunk right now.”

“Okay then, let’s get drunk!” laughed Lauren, taking a slower, longer swig, without any of the ensuing coughing afterward, “But I’m gonna make you pace yourself, okay?  There’s “good drunk,” and then there’s “sloppy drunk,” and trust me, “sloppy drunk” is hardly ever worth it.”

“Sloppy drunk sounds nice,” Eve sighed, allowing herself a moment of child-like impatience as she smacked her knees with her hands.  She was still wearing her gorgeous, sparkling white dress, but had taken off her heels, which sat in the corner next to the impressive collection of Lauren’s tall boots.  

“No, it doesn’t,” Lauren countered, holding the bottle back as Eve stretched out her arm out for it again, grasping cartoonishly with her fingers, “Although, I gotta admit…I sorta enjoy seeing you like this.”

“You enjoy seeing me miserable?” Eve whined, privately enjoying that she was comfortable letting loose like this with Lauren.  She felt completely safe with her friend.

“Not miserable,” Lauren replied, “It’s just that you’re always so straightlaced…and you’ve been like that as long as I’ve known you.  Getting straight A’s, never getting into trouble, never going out…”

“Hey!  I…I went out some in high school!” Eve protested, making another playful grasp at the whiskey bottle, which Lauren kept away from her.

“I mean, aside from going out with Jason to the Steak and Shake every couple weeks?” Lauren smirked, raising an eyebrow.  Eve opened her mouth to reply, but then closed it, letting her shoulders sink as she lowered her gaze to Lauren’s bed.  The mention of Jason’s name had wrested her back into the unpleasant reality of her situation, and reminded her again why she was at Lauren’s to begin with, and not at the dance.    

“I’m just saying,” Lauren continued, her voice softening a bit as she saw Eve’s disposition change, “That it’s nice seeing you cut loose a little.  I think you could use some nights like these, where you just kinda let yourself go.  It’s good for the brain, you know.”

“Chugging whiskey is good for the brain?” Eve remarked dryly, glancing at Lauren sardonically.

“Hey, our brains are complicated,” Lauren replied, shrugging, “So who’s to say?  Anyway, forget the chugging whiskey part, it’s still important to – hey!”

Eve had caught Lauren by surprise, shooting her arm out and grasping the whiskey bottle with her big hand.  Lauren was quite strong, stronger than Eve, and heavier, but Eve had bigger hands and longer fingers…and…actually, as both of them now realized, Lauren wasn’t actually stronger by much.  Lauren was holding onto the top of the bottle, and Eve was grasping the lower, thicker part, and for a few seconds, the two of them engaged in a playful tug-of-war.  In the process, Lauren’s eyes flitted over Eve’s outstretched arm, and her eyebrows creased together.  

“Dammmn, girl!” she exclaimed.

“What?” Eve asked, pausing her tugging motion.

“Your arm!” Lauren said, nodding down.  “You’ve been working out!”

“Huh?  Oh…yeah, I have,” Eve replied, glancing down at her forearm.  For a few seconds she just stared, blinking at the comparison between her arm and Lauren’s.  Aside from the developing effects of the alcohol, her brain felt like it was catching up to something.  Eve had always thought of Lauren as an amazon, a big, powerfully-built girl who intimidated most guys with her size, strength, and confidence.  Somewhere in her own mind, Eve was still a rather mousy young woman, taller than her 5’10 friend, yes, but much smaller, and definitely weaker.  But as she stared down at their arms lined up next to each other, the difference in size wasn’t immediately clear.  

“I mean, I had noticed before, of course,” Lauren said, staring down at the comparison as well, “But when you flex your forearm like that…here, do it again…”

Eve did, and Lauren’s eyebrows went up.

“Fuck…I think your arm’s just about as big as mine!” she laughed, relenting and letting Eve have the bottle.

“I don’t, uh…I don’t know,” Eve said absently, adjusting her legs in her cross-legged position as she took another swig from the bottle.  “Maybe…I mean, uhm…I have gained some weight recently.”

“Mhm, and it looks GOOD,” Lauren declared, nodding.  “REAL good.”

“Thanks,” Eve sighed, handing Lauren the bottle back as she stared at the wall.  “Like, if I’m being honest, I’m pretty happy with how I’ve been looking recently.  All that working out, and all that food…heh, it makes me feel great.”

“That’s your body thanking you,” Lauren said.  “We’re not supposed to be starving ourselves.  College is a time to grow into ourselves, to become women, to get THICK.”

Eve glanced up at Lauren, and both of them shared a laugh.

“I weighed myself just the other day,” Eve said, looking down and playing with her glittering white dress.  “I’m up to 160 now.”

“160!  Nice!” smiled Lauren encouragingly.  “Just a few more months of heavy squats and pull-ups and whatnot…and a fuck ton of food…and you’ll be neck and neck with me!”

“How much do you weigh again?” Eve asked, her eyes going over her friend’s solid voluptuous frame.

“183 this morning,” Lauren replied proudly, sticking out her chest, “Although that was before all the food I shoveled in, so probably more like 185 now.  Actually here, I got a scale in the bathroom, lemme check.”

Lauren hopped off the bed and bounced off into the bathroom, while Eve used the opportunity to snag the bottle and have another healthy swig.  Lauren came back a moment later with the scale and set it down on the floor, letting it toggle before she stepped on it.

“Alright Eve, seriously, I’m cutting you off – no more whiskey for thirty minutes,” she said, “And here, drink that glass of water I got you by the table.  You’ll thank me in the morning.”

“Ugh, fiiine,” Eve sighed, rolling her eyes as she did what Lauren said.

“Maybe we can even order some food later,” Lauren continued, looking down at the scale.  “Eating a nice, big, fatty meal helps with the hangovers too.”

“Oh my god yes pleeeease,” Eve assented.  “Mac and cheese…no wait, loaded crazy fries from Darento’s…no wait, a double cheeseburger!”

“Why not all three?” grinned Lauren, stepping off the scale and patting her belly (she was wearing a tight blue dress, and looked pretty good herself), “And anyway, I’ve been trying to get up to 190, and so this might be the night.  I already weigh 187, apparently.”

“Wow, really?” Eve asked, feeling strangely excited to hear that Lauren weighed a bit more than expected.  “It looks great on you…here, lemme see what I weigh now.”

She bounded off the bed and stepped on the scale while Lauren titled around and collapsed back onto her bed.  Eve was appreciating all the distractions – she had already vented to Lauren about how rude Jason had been to Ben, and how shocked Eve had been by his behavior, and how it fit into an unfortunate pattern that she had been noticing the past few weeks.  But even though she was enjoying the diversion right now, she knew that the two of them would have to go back to talking about Jason, even though she didn’t really want to.  She was disconcerted and confused by his behavior…but even more confusingly for Eve were the deluge of feelings that she was having, and had been having, about Ben.  His huge, shaggy, smiling face rose up in her mind, a couple inches taller than her, even when she towered over everyone else at 6’7 in those heels…she could feel his huge hands around her waist, strong and confident…they fit her curves perfectly, like they were puzzle pieces that went together.  And their conversation was so natural, so effortless, so interesting, so…

But Eve had to force all of it out of her mind.  They hadn’t talked about Ben yet, but she knew that they would – Lauren was going to bring it up.  SHE had seen the two of them slow-dancing.  But, for the moment, Eve didn’t want to think about it while she was this sober.  The reason was simple: she knew that she was strongly attracted to Ben, and that she had already developed feelings for this gigantic man…but she loved Jason and it made her upset to even consider that this was happening.

“What’s it say?” asked Lauren, snapping Eve out of her gloomy reverie.  She glanced down at the scale, her vision popping slightly as her brain adjusted to the inflowing flush of alcohol, and was surprised to see the number glowing back up at her in gentle blue.

“It…uh…wow,” Eve replied, her eyebrows going up before looking up at Lauren.  “163.6.”

“Mmmm that’s it,” Lauren declared, clapping her hands and rubbing them together, “We’re ordering from Darento’s tonight.  We gotta get you up to 165, at least!”

Eve laughed and bounded back onto the bed next to Lauren, feeling oddly elated that she weighed this much now.  She looked down at her hips and suddenly smacked her hands down on them, getting two big handfuls of flesh as she jiggled herself playfully.

“So let’s see…you’re 5’10, 187,” Eve mused aloud, as Lauren started ordering a bunch of food on her phone, “So that means that your BMI is, uh…hold up…26.8.”

Lauren paused in the middle of the order and looked up, arching an eyebrow at Eve.

“I forgot you were a freak,” she stated, causing Eve to smirk playfully.  She could feel the alcohol saturating her brain, and it felt good.  She wanted to laugh, to show off…to forget.

“Jesus, how do you even do that shit in your head?” Lauren persisted.  “So two large mac and cheeses, two large loaded crazy fries, and two double cheeseburgers with all the works?”

Eve nodded eagerly, clasping her hands in front of herself as she kept on:

“Sounds sooooo good…and I don’t know, I’ve always just been able to do math in my head like, super-fast…no idea why…so I’m 6’1, 163, which means my BMI is…21.5.  Huh, getting up there!”

“Getting up there…please!” Lauren scoffed playfully.  “You’ve got a ways to go before you catch up to the big mama here, baby!”  

“Well, like you said,” Eve said, smiling, “We’re in college now, so it’s time to get thick!”

“Mhm!” nodded Lauren.  “Okay, order placed.  Food should be here in like 45 minutes.”

“Yessss!” Eve sighed, rolling her eyes.  “Oh my god, I’m just tipsy now and I already can’t wait.”

“But yeah,” Lauren continued, “Being thick rules.  Seriously.  Every movement, every step you take, you can really just FEEL the weight moving around.  So many girls have been trained to hate that feeling, but they’re just missing out.  Really, Eve, you’ve always had a big frame – I bet if you kept working out and eating a bunch, you could get up to 200 by next year.”

“200!” Eve laughed.  “Oh geez…I don’t know if I’d want that…”

“Oh my god, you wouldn’t be able to keep the dudes off you!” Lauren exclaimed.  “A 6’1 bombshell?  Sporting over 200 pounds of curves and muscle!?  Pssssh, yeah, it’d be game over.”

Eve couldn’t help but realize that her mind had instantly gone to Ben when Lauren had mentioned “keeping the dudes off her.”  If she was dating Ben, THAT would “keep the dudes off her” for sure – who on earth would go up against Ben!?  But what came out of her mouth was:

“Jason wouldn’t like it…he got insecure the other day, when he realized that he was only like 7 pounds heavier than me.”

“Heh, well…by the end of tonight, you might have him beat!” chuckled Lauren, raising up her arms and striking an impressive double biceps pose.  Eve smiled back at her friend, but then there was a spell of silence that deepened into something more serious as the two of them, together, thought back to the real reason Eve was over at Lauren’s in the first place.

“What should I do, Lauren?” Eve murmured, allowing herself the freedom to sound lost.  Lauren looked at her friend hard for a few seconds, blinked, and then stared down sideways at her bed, shrugging her shoulders as she let out a sigh.

“I don’t know,” Lauren replied softly, before looking back up at Eve, studying her.  It was clear to Eve that Lauren had a lot of things on her mind that she was thinking about saying, but wasn’t saying because she knew that Eve cared a lot about Jason.  On one hand, Eve was grateful for this, but on the other hand, she felt slightly irritated.  Eve’s more unfettered self, which was becoming more and more pronounced as she got drunker, wanted the hard, unsparing side of Lauren to come out right now.  She wanted to hear Lauren finally give her full two cents on her boyfriend…two cents that Eve could guess with a reasonable level of certainty.  But she still wanted to hear Lauren say it.  

“Come on,” Eve said suddenly, making Lauren’s eyes snap up to her face, “Just give it to me, Lauren.  I’m not going to mind…really, I’m not.  You’re not gonna hurt my feelings.  Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Lauren was chewing on her tongue with her mouth closed, as her eyes flitted back and forth, scrutinizing her friend’s face.  There was a slight hint of a smile on Lauren’s lips, a smile that perhaps indicated that she was glad this moment had finally come, but she was very far from gloating about anything.  She knew that this was a serious night, and a serious moment, for Eve, for a number of different reasons.  

“Well,” Lauren sighed, staring straight at Eve as she replied, quite bluntly, “I don’t think it’s gonna shock you how I feel about Jason.”

Eve sat there listening, her heart beating a lot quicker than she felt comfortable with right now.  This was just Lauren’s opinion, after all…so why did it feel like she was passing some kind of overarching, definitive judgement on the situation…the relationship?  Yes, Eve trusted Lauren’s judgement, but it wasn’t like she was deferring some kind of a momentous decision to her friend.  So why did it feel that way?

“I know you love him,” continued Lauren, “And…you know, I think he loves you too.  Yeah, no real doubt there from me.”

“But…?” asked Eve.  

“But…since you asked me,” Lauren persisted, betraying a slight hint of discomfort for the first time, “I’m just gonna say, Eve – I don’t think he’s on your level.”

For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.  They just sat there on Lauren’s bed, staring at each other.  It had been a simple thing that Lauren had said, a sentiment that Eve wasn’t at all surprised to hear.  But somehow, it felt crucial, pivotal…like it had cracked open a door to some forbidden room that would never be closed again.  

“You don’t?” Eve asked quietly, disliking the sound of her own timid voice.  The truth was that she wanted Lauren to keep going, to keep talking, to keep validating her fears…and she felt a bit disgusted with herself for wanting all this.  Simultaneously, though, she felt strangely excited, almost elated, to be hearing these things.  It felt like a heavy weight on her mind, which she had only recently acknowledged was even there, was slowly beginning to lighten.  

“No Eve,” replied Lauren, raising her eyebrows and shaking her head seriously, “I don’t.  Look, I’m not trying to upset you, or –”

“You’re not,” said Eve quickly, “You’re not…really.  I asked your honest opinion.  I want to hear it.”

“And I’m not trying to tell you what to do, or how to live your life,” Lauren continued, “But I’ve just…I don’t know…for a while now it’s just been pretty clear to me.  And I’m not even talking about that one incident in the gym, you know.”

“Oh god…” moaned Eve, rolling her eyes, “I’d forgotten about that…”

“Yeah that was…well, we know what that was,” Lauren said shortly, her jaw hardening slightly, “But again, I’m not even talking about that.  I just mean in general, over a long period of time.  From senior year to now…and ESPECIALLY these last few months, once we came to college.”

“So what do you, uhm…what do you mean exactly?” Eve asked, staring down at Lauren’s comforter and absently playing with it, “When you say he’s…you know, not on my level?”

“What do I mean?” Lauren repeated, almost like she was barely able to hold herself back.  She took a deep breath.  “Where to even start…?  Look, this is just what I see, okay?  But you asked, so I’m giving it to you straight.  I think you’re more mature than him.  I think you’re smarter than him…WAY smarter.  I think you work harder than him.  I think you’re stronger than him.”

“Stronger!?” Eve laughed, her voice sounding odd in her own ears.  She was trying to make light of something that she knew was very serious, something that was happening right now.  

“I mean figuratively,” Lauren snapped, her eyes going over Eve’s body as she seemed to reconsider, “Though actually…maybe even literally too at this point, who knows?  The point is that I think you’re just…a stronger person in general.  Your ego isn’t fragile like his.  I’ve never seen you mope about anything…except for maybe right now, but you have a right to be a little mopey tonight.”

“Thanks,” Eve chuckled, though she really didn’t feel like laughing right now.  She was just thankful that she had unleashed Lauren.  This is exactly what she had wanted, even though it didn’t make her feel very good.

“But Jason,” Lauren kept on, “He mopes all the time.  ALL the time.  And about the stupidest shit too!”  She gestured over to Eve’s heels in the corner, eliciting a knowing, morose nod from her friend.  Eve had forgotten about how Jason had pitched such a fit about her wearing those heels to that dance…or, more accurately, she hadn’t forgotten.  She had just pushed it out of her mind, because contemplating the frailty of her boyfriend’s ego wasn’t pleasant.

“And when I say you’re stronger,” Lauren continued, “I mean…look – college is a big change for us all, right?  It’s not easy.  These kinds of situations bring things out in people.  What has Jason done here?  Moped around, skipped class all the time, whined at you every day, made you feel insecure about your height, insulted William, insulted Ben, made an ass out of himself at the dance…I could go on.”

“But maybe he’s just…I don’t know…he’s having a hard time,” said Eve quietly, feeling like she had to stick up for her boyfriend, even as her heart sank further.  “Maybe it’s just, like, an adjustment period.”

“And what have you been doing?” asked Lauren, ignoring what Eve had just said, “Crushing the academics, basically running math club, even though you’re just a freshman, killing it in the gym, getting strong and fit…”

“Thick,” blurted out Eve, frowning at the bed.

“Getting thick,” nodded Lauren, “Meeting a whole bunch of new friends, you know, just…okay look, Eve, I’m not just saying this because I’m your friend, but – you’re literally glowing, girl.  I can see it.  You were always super-smart and nice in high school, but here in college you’re just…I don’t know…you’ve really come out of your shell, and you’re just thriving.  I can see it in your eyes, Eve…I can see it!  And I’m really, really happy for you!”

Lauren had taken both of Eve’s hands in her own and was squeezing them, shaking them, emphasizing how much she was trying to get through to her.  Eve’s hands and arms shook limply in Lauren’s grasp, as she glanced slightly down at her friend, managing a hint of an appreciative smile.  It really did feel good for Lauren to be acknowledging her like this.  But behind it all was the upsetting corollary of Jason’s experience compared to her own, and it didn’t make her feel good.  

“I don’t want to dump him,” Eve heard herself say, and for the first time, she felt her lower lip beginning to quiver.  She bit it, hard.  Now was not the time to turn into a blubbering mess.  “I think that he’s…that he’s just having a really hard time, and…I don’t know.  I think maybe he needs me now more than ever.”

Lauren’s hands relaxed, letting Eve’s go, and Eve couldn’t help but feel like Lauren had done this out of frustration, like this was not what she wanted to hear.  If Eve was being honest with herself, these weren’t the words she wanted to hear herself say, either.  The thought of nursing and coaxing Jason through college life, holding his hand as she tiptoed around his ego, was not pleasant to contemplate at all.  The sight of his little face, so far down below her, idiotically blurting out, ‘I hope that wasn’t too painful…slow dancing with Ben there!’ with that stupid little grin on his face…no, it wasn’t just that he had “idiotically” said that.  It was beyond idiocy.  Jason really did think that he was more attractive, more desirable…BETTER…than Ben.  It was just gross…so gross…and as she dwelled on what he had said, Eve felt her guilt and sadness melting away, increasingly replaced by a vigorous and energetic disgust.

“But I just…I can’t believe he said that shit tonight,” Eve said, continuing her thoughts out loud after a long pause, “About Ben.”

“See, that’s just the thing, though,” Lauren replied, tilting her head slightly to the side as she looked her friend dead in the eye.  “I CAN believe it.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a total mystery to me why you’ve dated him.  He can be smart, quick, witty, funny…and he’s cute too…nice muscles and all.  But Eve…the shit that came out of his mouth tonight…to me, that’s not really the exception.  It’s the rule.  Your boyfriend is…kind of a tool.  With a big ego.  Maybe he could back it up in high school.  But that time has passed.”

Eve felt an internal push to stick up for Jason again, like she had done a couple times already during the conversation, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it anymore.  She was done going through the charade, with Lauren spitting the truth and her trying to save face by halfheartedly arguing against it.  That wasn’t going to work anymore…not tonight, anyway.

“But…I care about him,” she sighed, staring very hard at a corner of Lauren’s bed.  “I love him.”

“I didn’t say you didn’t,” Lauren said simply, shrugging.  “I know you’re in a tough place right now, Eve…and I’m not pretending like there’s some easy choice for you to make.  But…you asked for my opinion, so…”

“No, no I know I did,” Eve said quickly, seizing Lauren’s hands in her own and squeezing them as she stared into her eyes, “And…THANK you, Lauren…okay?  Thanks for giving it to me straight.  It’s…it’s what I wanted.  I’m not gonna say it was nice to hear but…I think I, you know…kinda needed to hear it.”

“Mhm,” nodded Lauren seriously, looking her friend up and down, “I think you did too.”

Several seconds of silence passed, and the two friends looked at each other, letting the night deepen around them.  Eve could feel herself getting rather tipsy, and part of her wanted to just point-blank ask Lauren if she should break up with Jason.  But she didn’t ask this, first, because she already knew what Lauren would say, and second, because…well…she really had no idea what she was going to do, and it didn’t feel right to ask Lauren – who didn’t love Jason – what to do.  Lauren seemed to sense this conflict in Eve, and said:

“Look, no use stressing too hard about any of this right now – you’re already drunk, so –”

“Not drunnnnnk,” Eve countered, a bit unconvincingly, as she rolled her eyes, “Just tipssssy.”

“Uh-huh,” chucked Lauren, “Well either way, I was just gonna say, you’ve got alcohol in your system, so it’s not gonna be a good idea to make any big decisions tonight, okay?”

“Mhm yes…thanks for saying that,” Eve nodded, squeezing Lauren’s hands.  “I…yeah, I think I needed to hear that too.  That makes me feel…a bit more relaxed.”

“Doesn’t it?” grinned Lauren, letting Eve’s hands drop back onto the bed as she reached over and grabbed a big pillow to hug on her lap.  Eve took the time to take another healthy swig from the whiskey bottle, coughing some more as her eyes teared up from the alcohol’s intensity.  She pushed the depressing, distressing thoughts about Jason back down into her mind, not ignoring them, but just putting them away for now.  Lauren’s words a moment before had been enormously helpful.  Before, Eve had been feeling pressure, totally subconsciously, to make some kind of decision about her relationship with Jason.  To be reminded that she didn’t have to that night was liberating, to say the least.  

“Uhhh, my phone,” Eve mumbled suddenly, moving to reach over for her purse, which was on Lauren’s nightstand.  

“Whoa, whoa, what’re you doing?” Lauren asked, seizing her arm, once again pausing to admire its size.

“Jason’s probably been text-bombing me,” Eve sighed, feeling like she had everything back under control.  “I should reply and let him know that…uhh…that….what?”

Lauren had been shaking her head slowly at Eve, a knowing grin on her face.

“See, this is what I’m talking about,” Lauren chuckled.  “I know EXACTLY what just happened in your head.  When you realized that you didn’t have to do anything drastic tonight, you mentally relaxed back into your old routine, which…translation…is babying and indulging your boyfriend’s fucking ego!”

Eve just sat there, a bit stunned by Lauren’s bluntness.  

“He pissed you off tonight!” Lauren continued energetically, reaching over and shoving Eve in the chest.  “Big time!  And you handled it perfectly!  You didn’t make a big scene – you just left the dance, and now you’re getting drunk with me!”

“The perfect response,” remarked Eve dryly.

“Yes, the perfect response!” repeated Lauren.  “Now look, are you seriously telling me you WANT to read all the pathetic shit that Jason’s probably texted you tonight!?”

“No,” said Eve quietly, her shoulders slumping slightly. 

“No!” exclaimed Lauren.  “So why should you!?  What’s he done to earn your attention?  If you indulge his shit tonight, it’s just encouraging him to act like this in the future!”

“What’ve you done to earn my attention?” Eve shot back, even though she was unable to stifle the grin on her own face.  She loved having Lauren as a friend.  She didn’t let anything slide.  In response, Lauren simply held up the whiskey bottle and shook it in Eve’s face, making Eve take an abrupt swipe at it, which missed, since Lauren pulled it back out of her reach.  They were back to tussling for the bottle again.

“How about,” Lauren offered, a minute later, after ruefully watching Eve take yet another swig, “You forget your stupid phone for tonight, hrmm?”

“Okay…hick...fine,” said Eve, hiccuping in between her words.  The truth was, she was perfectly happy to not look at her phone.  The fact that she had automatically reached for it, after sorting out everything in her head, was a real wake-up call.  She really DID baby Jason, didn’t she?

“Oh boy, not the hiccups,” Lauren laughed.  “C’mon…bottle…gimme.  No more for you until the food gets here.  Seriously.  And drink that water!  Anyway, like I was saying…how about you forget your phone…” – and here, she leaned in closer to Eve, gripping her huge pillow in her lap, as she stared straight up into her friend’s face – “And tell me aaaaall about Ben.”