David Leavitt

Oh, the specificity of the fetishist! The particularity of his needs! Or hers. 

Where do the numbers come from? Why 42 to 52? From what might be called middle middle age to what might be called late middle age. 110-135 lbs.? From what might be called thin to what might be called slightly overweight. But no mention of height, and height mitigates weight. Our fetishist seems to have forgotten that, which isn't necessarily surprising. He can't spell, either. (You will note that I'm assuming now that he is a he.) "Some food" is peculiar and sort of touching. What kind of food? Is there a hint here that the fetish might have a gastronomic dimension? Whipped cream on the nipples? Or something less obvious? Caviar on the collar bone? Mashed potatoes spooned off a knee?

 I'm  thinking that maybe he's looking for a woman who is the age his mother was when he was a child of about ten. That there's some longing, here, to retrieve a moment from the middle of his childhood. Because this guy is all about middles. Middle age, middle size. The two m's in the middle of the word "roommate" push up against each other like two pairs of breasts.And though he knows to spell "roommate" with two m's (one m is a common error), still he inserts an "e" into the middle of loving. Small e, a smiling face, an open mouth. His mother talking to  him. His mother's face right in the middle of the deed (and the word) of love.  

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