for us

At the breakfast table. “Morning.”

“Can I have the comics?”

“I’m reading them.”

“You’re only reading one page, let me have the other one, come on.”

Cereal, milk, Marmaduke.

At the dinner table. “Can I turn off the TV?”

“It’s the news, I want to watch the news.”

“Can’t we ever just eat dinner?”

“Can I turn on the radio? Music’s okay, right? Something classical?”

“At work I–”

“At school I–”

“What do you think about? What do you think? What? Do you like this? I can’t believe this. What do you want to do later? Do you want to watch TV with us? Do you want to read with us? What are you reading these days? Oh, I’ve read that. How is it? Let me tell you about this thing I saw–”

In the afternoon. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I just wanted to call, see how you were.”

“We’re good.”

“I miss you. I miss you. When can I come home?”

“Not yet, not yet. Soon.”

Nighttime. “Don’t stay up too late.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I love you.”

“Yeah. Like a little pig.”

“To the moon and back.”

“Thiiiiiiiiiiiis much.”

Noon. “Let’s clean the gutters today. Let’s bottle beer. Do you want to go for a drive? Here, look at this radio. This is a good deal. Have you heard the news? Have you heard the rumors? It’s all a horserace.”

“Who directed On the Waterfront?”

“Kazan.”

“K, A, Z… that fits. Thanks.”

“Who was the mother of the minotaur?”

“Where?”

“Sixteen down. Blank blank S, I blank blank blank blank.”

“Pasiphae.”

“Thanks.”

On the phone. “I haven’t talked to you in a while, are you okay? What are you up to?”

Laughter. “Let me tell you–!”

“Oh, sure. No kidding. Holy cow. And then you–”

“–and then I–”

“Give me a call sometime. Come visit me. I brag about you.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.”