The Eighth Day

I was always interested in myself, but I never thought I went back so far. Joan and I talked about birth almost as soon as we met. I told her I believed in the importance of early experience.
“What do you mean by early,” she asked. “Before puberty, before loss of innocence?

“Before age five,” I said. She sized me up. I could tell it was the right answer.

“How soon before age five?” She took a deep breath before she asked me that. I decided to go the limit.“The instant of birth,” I said, though I didn’t mean it and had no idea where it would lead me. ….