It was Sunday. "Don't blow in my ear!" Cassandra yelled. "I have very fragile skin. If you blow in my ear, it might break my eardrum." Travis laughed. He didn't believe her. He had seen too many movies and read too many books where the guy blew in the girl's ear and the girl ended up marrying the guy.

So he blew in her ear. She cried out in pain. "You're kidding," he said, startled. But the look on her face said that she wasn't kidding. Something's wrong, she told him. He apologized profusely. She put her little finger in her ear; when she pulled it out, there was moisture on her fingertip. She said she could hear a whooshing sound. He felt sick. He couldn't believe that he had just injured her. This had never happened in any movie or any book. Yet it was happening to her.

She felt dizzy. She ran to the bathroom and threw up. "I'm so sorry, honey," he told her. Very quietly, she said it was okay. She wanted to go home. He walked her out to his car. She said the whooshing sound was not going away. When they got to her place, she got into her bed and lay down. She asked him to please leave, as she wanted to try to sleep. He apologized again. He got back into his car and returned to his apartment. What a jerk I am, he said over and over. What a jerk.