Kim MagowanTHE BACK NINE The email is from Marianne’s boarding school classmate Harrison McBee, then captain of the lacrosse team, now an investment banker living with his husband in Manhattan; the subject heading is “Sad News.” Reluctantly, Marianne opens it. This time, it’s her classmate Chip who died.   What Marianne can visualize most clearly about Chip’s face are the slashes of black greasepaint all the football players wore under their eyes. And she remembers being at a school dance, leaning against the wall, and bracing herself because Chip appeared to be looking at her. But he was merely looking through her. At fifty-two, Marianne is familiar with that experience of invisibility, and doesn’t entirely mind it. There’s a power in watching everyone watch. But at fifteen, it had felt so humiliating.   Chip Macomber: greasepaint under eyes that didn’t see her.    Other classmates have detailed memories of Chip. All … Continue reading THE BACK NINE by Kim Magowan