Topic > become a slut, which is repeated several times in this story. But the question I ask you is: is this current situation in the girl's life, or was it a memory of the one she had before with her mother? Does this story take place in the present or the past? He may be in the present with a girl, but I have also come to the conclusion that he may be in the past and that the italicized words may keep repeating in his mother's forgotten speech. Now is when she needs her mother's comfort and not just what she wanted at the time of the speech. In the other perspective, however, he could be in the present time and simply be called upon by the narrator to open up his imagination and let him draw his own conclusions. The story is a poem or is it a story, this story is not just a page with sentences expressing thoughts about one person towards another person. Well, that's what I got from it and now I can only be more confused thinking about it, the story is so broad that anyone's interpretation could be perceived as correct. Not only can the story change with each person, it also changes with the readers mood at that moment, don't just try to analyze it and your mind marvels at the choices Kincaid gives you.