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"Um, alligators?"
"I don't like alligators, but I'm not scared of them," he says.
"Losing cases in court." My face lights up as he wrinkles his nose.
"I don't like losing cases in court, but I'm not scared of that, either."
"I give up. What are you scared of?"
"Going through tunnels," he says.
"Going through tunnels?" I look at him in confusion.
"Yeah, driving through long tunnels. It triggers me. It activates a deep-seated fear inside of me."
"What do you think is going to happen in a tunnel?"
"I feel like it might collapse and the earth and the cement and the concrete will cave in on me and cars will crash and pile up and I'll be stuck.
"Oh, wow. Why do you have that fear? Is it something that's happened to someone you know?”
He looks at me for a few seconds and shakes his head. "No, it's because I was a stupid kid."
“You were? Tell me more.”
"When I was younger, there was this movie and my parents told me not to watch it, but of course I watched it. And there was a scene where some miners went underground and they were traveling to a different part of the mine in a little train in a tunnel and it caved in. They were stuck there for, I think, a few days and they ended up all dying from lack of oxygen, lack of water, and lack of food. I've never been able to forget that movie or that scene.'
"Oh, that sounds traumatic."
He nods. "I mean, if I'd listened to my parents, I wouldn't have watched the movie, but I did, and now every time I drive through a tunnel, I think to myself, what would I do if it caved in?"
"Oh man." I stare at him. "Do you drive through a lot of tunnels?"
"No, not anymore." He shakes his head. "So what about you? Any fears?"
"I hate spiders. I hate snakes. I hate cockroaches." I shudder. "Oh, boy do I hate cockroaches."
"That sounds like you've had an experience. Want to tell?"
"Well, my grandparents used to live in Florida and I remember one summer we went to visit and I was lying in bed and I was feeling comfortable and smiling and laughing."
"Smiling and laughing?" he says.
"Yeah, I was speaking to my cousin. We were talking about the previous day when we were at Disney."
"Oh, okay. Disney's fun."
"Yeah, it's a lot of fun. Anyway, we were joking around and then I started to fall asleep. Then I felt something tickling me and I was like, 'Lucy, stop.' But no one responded and she continued tickling me. So I was like, 'Lucy, stop.' And then she wakes up and she's all groggy and she's like, 'What?' I'm like, 'Stop tickling me, Lucy.' And she was like, 'What are you talking about? I was sleeping.' So I turn on the light..." I stare at him and I shudder. "And there was a big ass cockroach running across my body." I almost scream again. "Oh, the memory of it, it makes me want to die."
He stares at me, his lips twitching. "That does sound traumatic."
"It's not funny. It was awful."
"I'm sure it was."
"That's why I say I could never live in Florida."
"Oh?"
