“Don’t be impressed by all of that,” he said.

“All of what?”

“The length of it all,” he told her.

“But there is a lot of good stuff in there.”

He did not say anything and looked at the girl with a very straight face.

Finally, realizing he was not going to say anything, she asked, “What’s so wrong with it?”

“It bores me.”

The words were harsh on her ears.   Here she thought it had been something to look up to, something to strive for, an example of what it should look like.

Then he said, “Anyone can go on and on and on, my dear.”

“And it means nothing to you?”

“Not in that way.”

Now the girl was very quiet and he asked her, “What did you think I was going to say?”

Oh, what a waste, she thought, what a waste of time this all has been.