How Carol and William Are

William walked and ran into Carol.

"Hi." said William.
"Hi." said Carol.
"How are you?" asked William.
"Good." said Carol.
"Now we are standing here." said William.
"Yes we are." said Carol.

They exchanged closed mouth looks with each other.

"And that's all there is." said Carol.
"Well I'll try asking how you are again." said William.
"Okay." she said.
"How are you?"

Carol started to get a feeling of feeling stumped by the question.
"I am here." said Carol.

William decided to get more specific.
"How have you been?" he asked.
"I cannot reveal all the ups and downs that I've been going through, as it will have me appear too vulnerable. And any vulnerability might be perceived as instability." said Carol.
"You're right. That answer, though an attempt to be a non-answer, was very revealing, summed up a lot, and made it appear as though you've been having a difficult time lately."
"But, see I don't know that that would be accurate." said Carol.
"Too bad there isn't enough time to hear all about it. Now I have to go!" said William.
"Well before you go, I should let you know that I haven't been having too difficult of a time lately. Just ups and downs. That's not so interesting, but hey it's my life." said Carol.
"Ah, even though this has been a short exchange, I now feel like I have a very clear idea of how you have been lately."
"Oh good, but hey you didn't reveal much about yourself to me in this exchange." said Carol.
"I know, I asked most of the questions, didn't I?" said William.
"That's sneaky. I'll have to ask you the questions next time I see you." said Carol.

Then they parted ways. Carol ate a crumbly cookie then went and made love to a man she knew. William drank some alcohol and talked on the phone with his son, who lived with his ex-wife.