This attic is one of 21 paper backgrounds Sheila Heti discovered in a 1940s-era paper-doll set for Freudian analysts. On top are three paper dolls chosen at random. George, a gay man who used to have a secret relationship, was asked what he sees when he looks at this scene.

This attic is one of 21 paper backgrounds Sheila Heti discovered in a 1940s-era paper-doll set for Freudian analysts. On top are three paper dolls chosen at random. George, a gay man who used to have a secret relationship, was asked what he sees when he looks at this scene.

George is a gay man of 32 whose professional life is just adequate enough to support him. He works in electronics. His most significant romantic relationship was with a beautiful man named Lee, but that relationship was a secret. It went on for six years, during which time Lee had a boyfriend named Albert. Lee and Albert lived together (and had been together four years already when George and Lee’s relationship started). The three took vacations together, celebrated the holidays with elaborate dinners, were inseparable as a threesome. Often George slept over, and he and Lee would have sex downstairs while the oblivious Albert would be fast asleep upstairs. Several years after Lee committed suicide, George confessed to Albert about their affair. George and Albert are now close friends. They travel together and have dinner most nights. One wonders if they are in love with each other, somehow…