When Deidre crossed Broadway against the traffic and stepped onto the curb, phone in hand, it was a transformative—albeit confusing—moment. A moment when the choice, for Henry, was to stare with stunned amazement or suddenly perform surrealist-influenced performance art.

She was a good kid until she chose to manipulate and triangulate, until she was trapped in a corner, like a cheap 1950s wind-up doll, arms and feet buzzing in the air, until it stopped and fell to the floor.

That is Deidre now. Full of rage and a somewhat settled identity, despite the current persona that only works in Brooklyn and a few other places, but nowhere else.

Henry understood that. He was young once, too. Deidre has a few years left to realize that whatever you think you are on the outside is just a uniform, not a persona. She also didn’t learn the lesson Henry learned, that “you’re not as smart as you think you are” either. He hoped she would, but likely won’t.

Henry continued his walk, maintaining his usual pace. He always walked faster than most pedestrians. Even so, he kept his head on a swivel. He hadn’t seen them in years and remained on high alert just in case the rage that Deidre carried today was heavier than overstuffed luggage.

Hiding behind sunglasses to protect from early-stage glaucoma (and also just to hide his mood and potential expressions from others), he confidently believed he was safe—until now.

This came from reading Catch-22 as a young teenager, and the “Yosserian, jump!” Yosserian did and avoided getting knifed. This statement from a then-girlfriend stuck with him, and he has acted accordingly since then.

He shifted over to his left, while Deidre remained half a block ahead. Moments later, she vanished into the crowd.

Henry continued walking and later entered a bookstore.

He has to jump this time. Until another moment like this comes along, because there will always be another.

While browsing the carts, where the staff shelved the recent acquisitions, he remembered what a long-dead ex-girlfriend said to him more than thirty years ago. “After I die, I will haunt you.”

It stayed with him, and ever since, he has had several Yossarian jumps.

He regretted not breaking up with her after that lunacy. Instead, they had Deirdre.

At the shop, Henry found a book he had been looking for.