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"Yes," I say

"Me too"

"Our parents quit while they were ahead," I say, repeating the line Mom and Dad always use when people ask if I’m an only child We quit while ere ahead

"I never understand sos," Willem replies "If you’re ahead, ould you quit?"

"I think it’s a ga his head "I think it’s hu when you’re ahead, no matter what You quit while you’re behind" Then he looks atthat he has maybe insulted me, he hastily adds, "I’m sure with you it was different"

When I was little, my parents had tried to have more children First they went the natural route, then they went the fertility route, Moh a bunch of horrible procedures that never worked Then they looked into adoption and were in the process of filling out all the paperhen Morade at the time, and she’d worked since I was a baby, but when the baby cao on an extended leave froo back half time But then in her fifth month, she lost the baby That’s when she and Dad decided to quit while they were ahead That’s what they told nized it as a lie They’d wanted ood enough so that we could all pretend that eren’t actually settling

"Maybe you’re right," I tell Willem now "Maybe nobody quits while they’re really ahead My parents always say that, but the truth is, they only stopped with me because they couldn’t have any h"

"I’h"

"Were you?" I ask

"Maybe h," he says cryptically It al, except it doesn’t look like he’s bragging

He starts doing the thing with the coin again As we sit silently, I watch the coin, feeling so if he’ll let it fall But he doesn’t He just keeps spinning it When he finishes, he flips it in the air and tosses it to ht

"Can I ask you so?" I say after a minute

"Yes"

"Was it part of the show?"

He cocks his head

"I irl at every perforot back to the hotel, I spent a long ti the coin he’d tossed me It was a Czech koruna, worth about a nickel But still, I’d put it in a separate corner of n coins I pull it out now It glints in the bright afternoon sun

Willem looks at it too I’uous, or maybe both Because that’s exactly what he says: "Maybe both"

Seven

When we leave the restaurant, Willem asks me the time I twist the watch around my wrist It feels heavier than ever, the skin underneath itchy and pale fro stuck under the piece of chunky metal for the past three weeks I haven’t taken it off once

It was a present, froraduation night, after the party at the Italian restaurant with Melanie’s family, where they told us about the tour

"What’s this?" I’d asked We were sitting at the kitchen table, decoraduation present"

She’d sot you another"

I’d opened the box, seen the watch, fingered the heavy gold links Read the engraving

"It’s too much" And it was In every way

"Ti a little sadly "You deserve a good watch to keep up" Then she’d snapped the watch on my wrist, shown me how she had an extra safety clasp installed, pointed out that it aterproof too "It’ll never fall off So you can take it to Europe with you"

"Oh, no It’s way too valuable"

"It’s fine It’s insured Besides, I threay your Swatch"

"You did?" I’d worn h school

"You’re a grown-up now You need a grown-up watch"

I look at my watch now It’s alh of relief, because the busy part of the day would be winding down Usually we had a rest around five, and ht o’clock, I could be back inso sohts," Willem says "Do you knohat you want to do?"

I shrug "We could start with the Seine Isn’t that it?" I point to a concrete embankment, underneath which is a river of sorts

Willehs "No, that’s a canal"

We walk down the cobblestoned pathway, and Willeh Guide to Europe He opens to a small map of Paris, points out, more or less, where we are, an area called Villette

"The Seine is here," he says, tracing a line down the map

"Oh" I look out at the boat, which is stuck noeen two bigup ater Willem explains that this is a lock, basically an elevator that lifts and drops the boats down differing depths of the canals