Excerpt B

[Dave's initial response to Frank's account]

Dave: Well, there are a lot of reactions that I have to this. First of all, let me tell you that, do you remember you and me having a conversation about Jane _____? [Dave tells two stories at this point, one about how he made light of a tragic event in a very inappropriate way; the other about how Frank became so involved in the dramatic recounting of an event involving this same person that the form of the retelling overwhelmed its content.] Well, my point is that this was perfectly okay. I allow Frank to be a literary person and Frank allows me to be a fool.