Dear Wigleaf,

There's a German Shepherd wearing a cone in this Sri Lankan hotel lobby. We escaped here this morning from an Airbnb with bedbugs and a heartbreaking view of the sea. The dog is trying to scratch his neck with a back leg, but the plastic cone is in the way and he seems disappointed by the results, sighing. 

"Sick," says a hotel employee. I nod.

We want to be the best kind of people but the truth is there could be bedbugs in one of our bags and we aren't sure what to do besides get our clothes laundered and leave our suitcases on the patio overnight and say wow, delicious when they hand us welcome drinks garnished with cinnamon sticks and exotic pink flowers.

Now there are sensual papaya trees in front of our cabana and hints of sewage on the breeze and I'm hopeful our holiday can be salvaged because our souls are tired.

So I was wondering, do you still believe there's always a wrong and a right way to behave? Do you know how to identify bedbugs or their eggs in a mattress or a pile of clothes? I know it's been a while but I always admired your clear-headedness.

In the meantime, we have left a pair of running shoes in the freezer.

Thinking of you in Sri Lanka,

Nicole




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