This is the portion of our correspondence that I like to call, "The disclaimer."
7/11 Morgan to Johnny
Oh, my friends and I are completely insane--it's the basis of our respective relationships. Katie's in love with a sociopath, Euliza's married to one, Deanna is a lesbian who can't stop cheating on her girlfriend with boys, and I suffer from illusions of grandeur.
I have to make a conscious effort to believe the things you write, and I'm not saying this asking for validation but just to let you know the state of mind I'm in when I read your emails. I hate more than anything being lied to, so I just assume all of my conversations are filled with half-truths, exaggerations, and blatant lies. It's a fantastic form of existence, let me tell you.
Morgan
7/12 Johnny to Morgan
I do realise that we have only met once, and that, maybe we should both take what we say to each other with a pinch of salt. But I am usually a good judge of character and although we both have things in our life which we are not prepared to go into detail about right now, I see no point in lying about our situation.
I don't read as much as I should. I don't get a great deal of spare time, unfortunately. I do find it a little intimidating that you seem to have a better grasp of English than I do! But mostly, I find it a very attractive trait of yours. Especially as a lot of my comments to Americans seem sail straight over their heads. Lost in translation indeed.
Johnny.X