curve and up a long incline.
  Laura said, “I bet you even worry in your sleep."
  “Well, sooner or later, in every dream there's a boogeyman. You've got to be on the 
lookout for him."
  “I have lots of dreams without boogeymen,” Laura said. “I have wonderful dreams."
  “Getting shot out of a cannon?"
  “That would be fun. No, but sometimes I dream that I can fly. I'm always naked and just 
floating or swooping along fifty feet above the ground, over telephone lines, across 
fields of bright flowers, over tree-tops. So free. People look up and smile and wave. 
They're so delighted to see that I can fly, so happy for me. And sometimes I'm with this 
beautiful guy, lean and muscular, with a mane of golden hair and lovely green eyes that 
look all the way tbrougb me to my soul, and we're making love in midair, drifting up 
there, and I'm having spectacular orgasms, one after another, floating through sunshine 
with flowers below and birds swooping overhead, birds with these gorgeous iridescent-blue 
wings and singing the most fantastic birdsongs you ever heard, and I feel as if I'm full 
of dazzling light, just a creature of light, and like I'm going to explode, such an 
energy, explode and form a whole new universe and be the universe and live forever. You 
ever have a dream like that?"
  Chyna had finally taken her eyes off the onrushing blacktop. She stared in blank-faced 
astonishment at Laura. Finally she said, “No."
  Glancing away from the two-lane, Laura said, “Really? You never had a dream like that?"
  “Never."
  “I have lots of dreams like that."
  “Could you keep your eyes on the road, kiddo?"
  Laura looked at the highway and said, “Don't you ever dream about sex?"
  “Sometimes."
  “And?"
  “What?"
  “And?"
  Chyna shrugged. “It's bad."
  Frowning, Laura said, “You dream about having bad sex? Listen, Chyna, you don't have to 
dream about that-there are lots of guys who can provide all the bad sex you want."
  “Ho, ho. I mean these are nightmares, very threatening."
  “Sex is threatening?"
  “Because I'm always a little girl in the dreams-six or seven or eight-and I'm always 
hiding from this man, not quite sure what he wants, why he's looking for me, but I know 
he wants something from me that he shouldn't have, something terrible, and it's going to 
be like dying."
  “Who's the man?"
  “Different men."
  “Some of the creeps your mother used to hang out with?"
  Chyna had told Laura a great deal about her mother. She had never told anyone else. 
“Yeah. Them. I always got away from them in real life. They never touched me. And they 
never touch me in the dreams. But there's always a threat, always a possibility.
  “So these aren't just dreams. They're memories too.”
  “I wish they were just dreams.”
  “What about when you're awake?” Laura asked.
  “What do you mean?”
  “Do you just turn all warm and fuzzy and let yourself go when a man makes love to you 
... or is the past always there?"
  “What is this-analysis at eighty miles an hour?”
  “Dodging the question?”
  “You're a snoop.”
  “It's called friendship.”
  “It's called snoopery.”
  “Dodging the question?”
  Chyna sighed. “All right. I like being with a man. I'm not inhibited. I'll admit that 
I've never felt as though I'm a creature of light going to explode into a new universe, 
but I've been fully satisfied, always had fun."
  “Fully?”
  “Fully.”
  Chyna had never actually been with a man until she was twentyone; and her intimate 
relationships now totaled exactly two. Both had been gentle, kind, and decent men, and in 
each case Cbyna bad greatly enjoyed the lovemaking. One affair had lasted eleven months, 
the other thirteen, and neither lover had left her a single troubling memory. 
Nevertheless, neither man had helped her banish the vicious dreams, which continued to 
plague her periodically, and she'd been unable to achieve an emotional bond equal to the 
physical intimacy. To a man whom she loved, Chyna could give her body, but even for love, 
she could not entirely give her mind and heart. She was afraid to commit herself, to 
trust without reservation. No one in her life, with the possible exception of Laura 
Templeton-stunt driver and dream flier-had ever earned total trust.
  Wind shrieked along the sides of the car. In the flickering shadows and fiery light, 
the long incline ahead of them seemed to be a ramp, as if they were going to be launched 
into space when they reached the top, vaulting across a dozen burning buses while a 
stadium full of thrill-seekers cheered.
  “What if a tire blows?” Chyna asked.
  “The tires won't blow,” Laura said confidently.
  “What if one does?”
  Wrenching her face into an exaggerated, demonic grin, Laura said, “Then we're just girl 
jelly in a can. They won't even be able to separate the remains into two distinct bodies. 
A total amorphous mess. They won't even need coffins for us. They'll just pour our 
remains in a jug and put us in one grave, and the headstone will read: Laura Chyna 
Templeton Shepherd. Only a Cuisinart Would Have Been More Thorough. “
  Chyna had hair so dark that it was virtually black, and Laura was a blue-eyed blonde, 
yet they were enough alike to be sisters. Both were five feet four and slender; they wore 
the same dress size. Each had high cheekbones and delicate features. Chyna had always 
felt that her mouth was too wide, but Laura, whose mouth was as wide as Chyna's, said it 
wasn't wide at all but merely “generous” enough to ensure an especially winning smile.
  As Laura's love of speed proved, however, they were in some ways profoundly different 
people. The differences, perhaps more than the similarities, were what drew them to each 
other. 
  “You think your mom and dad will like me?” Chyna asked.
  “I thought you were worried about a blown tire.”
  “I'm a multichannel worrier. Will they like me?”
  “Of course they'll like you. You know what I worry about?” Laura asked as they raced 
toward the top of the incline.
  “Apparently, not death.”
  “You. I worry about you,” Laura said. She glanced at Chyna, and her expression was 
uncharacteristically serious. 
  “I can take care of myself,” Chyna assured her.