1.

“Baby Girl Wozinski,” two hours and seventeen minutes old, was swaddled in the standard, hospital-issued pink blanket and cotton cap while her mother slept down the hall in room 419 and her father, a commercial airline pilot, fucked a stewardess named Mitzy in a motel room during a layover in Weehawken, New Jersey.

2.

Bobby, age seven, sat upon Santa’s lap while his mother snuck a drink in the department store bathroom. Bobby told Santa what he wanted most for Christmas, a pink Huffy bicycle with a horn and a basket, and Santa smiled and winked, whispering, “Only special little boys get pink Huffy bicycles. Are you a special little boy?” Bobby thought for a moment then replied, “Yes. I am.”

3.

Mallory, 13, applied her mother’s lipstick, a shade called Coral Reef, and took eleven dollars from her purse before sneaking out her bedroom window to meet a group of friends in front of the 7-11. Her best friend, Lucy, brought her older brother Kyle, a junior at Washington High School. While Lucy was inside buying candy bars and slushies, Kyle told Mallory she was pretty, then asked if she wanted to learn how to kiss a boy “down there.”

4.

While packing for college, Allison, 18, decided against bringing her Binky, the tattered, pink and white satin blanket she had slept with since birth, not wanting to appear childish or uncool to all the new friends she was hoping to make.
For the first month in her dorm room, Allison woke each night with a start, the feeling that she had lost something irretrievable keeping her awake and unsettled until morning. She finally visited the school psychiatrist, who gave her two prescriptions: for Ambien and Lexapro, and after that, she no longer had trouble sleeping through the night, nor did she care anymore about making new friends.

5.

In an attempt to spice up her sex life and prevent her marriage from failing, Carolyn, 38, visited the lingerie department at Neiman Marcus, passing over the rack of comfortable, sensible cotton nightgowns in muted shades of pink and lilac, heading straight for the less breathable fabrics in black and red.
She charged $300 worth of new undergarments, then spent the rest of the afternoon in her bedroom, perplexed by all the straps and padding, attempting to understand how each piece was meant to be worn.
When her husband came home from work that evening, she called him into the bedroom, where she was stretched out on their bed in polyester and nylon. Upon seeing her, Carolyn’s husband began to laugh, and was unable to stop himself, the way it often is when something is terribly funny. He continued laughing even after Carolyn ran from the room and locked herself away in the master bath, where she tore the itchy fabric from her body and wept at her reflection in the mirror, wondering desperately how anyone could be so repulsive.

6.

Marcus, 43, retired to his bottom bunk after the guards called lights out, and when he was certain his cell-mate was asleep, he retrieved the small padded envelope from under his pillow and removed the photograph of Angie, his 16 year old pen pal, and the lacy pink thong she had sent him as a gift. In what had been his nightly ritual for the past two months, Marcus held the photo in front of his face with one hand and rubbed the thong against his cock with the other until he came with a quiet moan, the only activity capable of lulling him to sleep in his cold and comfortless cell.

7.

Britney, 25, locked herself in her walk-in closet while her parents, publicist, manager and 4 bodyguards paced in the living room downstairs. She took the day-glo pink bob wig from its hiding place on the back of a shelf and arranged in gently atop her tender head, admiring herself in the full-length mirror before breaking into an old, well-memorized dance routine.
Silently mouthing the accompanying words: “Oops, I did it again. I played with your heart. Got lost in the game. Ooh baby, baby…” Britney imagined herself before her an audience full of screaming fans watching her, emulating her, adoring her.

8.

Albert, 36, returned home from his job teaching social studies to a group of seventh graders at the local middle school. He poured himself a glass of apple juice and closed the curtains in his living room before retrieving a shoe box from under the couch, pulling out all fifteen of his beloved Barbie dolls, each dressed impeccably in mini skirts, business suits, evening gowns, and coordinating plastic heels.
Albert arranged them all delicately on the couch and looked them over for a moment, deciding that Weekend Get-Away Barbie was the one most in need of a good hair-brushing. He took her from her place next to Shopping Spree Barbie, and as he gently brushed her long blonde hair with the pink, plastic comb, he told them all about his day: his students’ lack of intelligence, the other teachers’ lack of compassion. Then he paused mid-brushstroke and chuckled good-naturedly, as if he had just realized something horrible but was better off knowing, and said, “You are the only ones who really understand me.”

9.

Jacob, 19, lied in bed with his girlfriend Ashley, just after they had lost their virginity. For the first time in his life, Jacob deeply regretted the fact that he could not see. Before now, when he listened to his father yell and throw glasses and chairs, heard his mother cry out in pain or his little sister weep into her pillow, he was glad he couldn’t see their faces and the expressions that registered there.
But now, tracing his hand across Ashley’s belly, where it dipped beneath her pubic bone, sight was the thing he desired most.
“Tell me what your vagina looks like,” he said, and she giggled, embarrassed, but then realizing he was serious, Ashley relayed in almost perfect detail exactly what she looked like.
“Pink?” Jacob asked.
“Yes, pink,” Ashley repeated.
“Well, it must be the most beautiful color there is.”