While I was waiting for the bus that would take me from the university to the center of Reading, feeling stupid after an entire day in the classroom, I started wondering why Lauren would keep nagging and pestering me even after my many complaints on this score. The more I complain, the more persistent she seems to be, too. When the bus finally appeared, bursting with light on the dark and wet road, I realized that the solution to the riddle could be rather plain: Lauren had long wanted to get rid of me, but she had been waiting for me to make the decisive move. She had been prodding me in the right direction all the while. Then I remembered it was Valentine’s Day.