She converted me. She taught me the simple pleasures. Before her I looked for them loud and big, strong and scarlet. Silly of me.
The third time I met her, I remember thinking I'd boast to her, shock her, she was so absurdly green. I told her about amphetamine sulfate and five in a bed. She looked at me blankly, then kindly. I felt a fool, and I was a fool. We dropped the subject and went into the garden where she showed me some pale green, lemon-scented irises and mentioned a man she had been in love with for a long time. She was mad for irises.

MARY FLANAGAN, U.K.
in "Simple Pleasures", Bad Girls, 1992


Ela converteu-me. Ensinou-me os prazeres simples. Antes dela, eu procurava-os grandes e ruidosos, impróprios e fáceis. Era parva.
Da terceira vez que a vi, lembro-me de pensar que me ia gabar, chocá-la, ela era absurdamente ingénua. Falei-lhe do sulfato de anfetamina e duma cama para cinco. Olhou-me sem expressão e depois com simpatia. Senti-me idiota e era idiota. Mudámos de assunto e fomos para o jardim, onde ela me mostrou uns lírios verde pálido, com perfume a limão, e se referiu a um homem por quem estivera apaixonada durante muito tempo. Era doida por lírios.