Re: Passages: Bruce B and Matt M
["Fictional" was not a word that came readily to mind for Matthew. His life seemed too real, too fraught with blood and grit to be anyone's fireside story. For him, fiction was a thing found on the stage and in songs, a sigh and distraction. Matthew's battered mouth firmed into stubborn irritation.] I am real. And I think it without doubt you are American, or I might not take so kindly to a man who is told to be firmly in the pay of James, last left King of England. [He said the last three words with distinct disdain.]
[Hurrying on, and anxious to have the visit done, he continued:] Thou dost not have the tools of the doctor's trade. A lady I know kept a [...] van of such things. Metal and chemical, they were. [He squinted suspiciously.]