Have you ever been to Amsterdam?
To me, it’s the perfect city. It’s a semicircle of concentric canals, with small roads occupied by thousands of bicycles, and six-storey Victorian or earlier townhouses.
The people there are beautiful: straightforward, tall, thin, and handsome. The music scene is great, the beer is amazing, and you can walk pretty much from one end of the city to the other.
I’d know Edward for fifteen years then. We’d been at Primary School together. We were inseparable as children; I loved him. He was my best friend. We started growing apart when we were nine or ten – as boys and girls who are friends do – and went to separate Secondary schools.
For Americans, Primary School is ages 5 – 11. Secondary School is ages 11 – 16. I met Edward when I was 5.
We did our own things through Secondary School. Our families were close, and I saw him at barbecues or around the New Year. He was awkward, seemingly always covered in acne. His limbs always the wrong length. I wore dresses and flirted with his older brothers.