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Dawn does not disappoint She loves the way Vic looks, using the word debonair instead of dapper She is full of news of the day, and full of questions about what I’ve been up to This is a delicate area--I don’t want hiht in a lie later on--so I tell her I simply had the impulse to take the day off No tests, no hallways, just driving to so as I was back in time for her She fully supports this decision, and doesn’t even ask why I didn’t invite her along This is, I hope, how Vic will remember the day

I have to access rapid-fire in order to follow all Dawn’s reference points, but even still, it’s a good time Vic’s memory of her is absolutely correct--she sees him so precisely, so wonderfully, so offhandedly She doesn’t broadcast her understanding at all It’s just there

I know their situation is different from ours I know I am not Vic, just as Rhiannon is not Dawn But part of y Part of me wants us to transcend in the sa, that powerful

Both Vic and Dawn have their own cars, but at Dawn’s request, Vic follows her home, just so he can walk her to the door and they can have a proper goodnight kiss I think this is sweet, and go along, walking hand in hand with Dawn up the front steps I have no idea if her parents are hoet to the screen door and then hang there for acouple from the 1950s Then Dawn leans over and kisses me hard, and I kiss her back hard, and it’s not the door we’re propelled toward but the bushes She’s pushingall of her in, and it’s so intense that I lose my mind, or lose track of Vic’sher and feeling it and out of my mouth comes the word Rhiannon At first I don’t think Dawn’s heard it, but she pulls back for a second and asks --doesn’t she know the song?--and I’ve alondered what that word meant, but this is what it is, this is what it feels like, and Dawn says she has no idea what song I’ about, but it doesn’t matter, she’s used to my quirks by now, and I tell her I’ll play it for her later, but in the meantime there’s this and this and this We are covered in leaves, ht on a branch, but it’s just so full of life that we don’t ht there’s an email from Rhiannon

A,

Today ard, but I think that’s because it feels like a very aard time It isn’t about you, and it isn’t about love It’s about everything crashing together at once I think you knohat I ain But I don’t think it can be at school I think that’s too much for me Let’s meet after Somewhere with no traces of the rest ofhow, but I want these pieces to fit

Love,

R

Day 6024

No alarm wakes me the next day Instead, I awake to find a e ofme She is sorry to wake er sadness She touches htly

"It’s time to wake up," she says quietly, as if she wants the transition fro your clothes on the door of the closet We’ll be leaving in about forty-five minutes Your father is … very upset We all are But he’s taking this particularly hard, so just … give hi to ure out who I a on But after she leaves and I see the dark suit hanging on the closet door, I piece it all together

My grandfather has died, and I’ot to tell friends to cover et on the computer to let Rhiannon know that it’s not likely I’ll be able to see her today From what I can tell, the service is at least two hours away At least on’t be spending the night

My father has stayed in , but as I’es He doesn’t just look upset--he looks newly blind There is such loss in his eyes, and it pers feebly from his neck, barely knotted

"Marc," he says to ht now it sounds like both an incantation and a cry of disbelief I have no idea how to react

Marc’sher ar back to straighten his tie She turns to o

I clear the history, turn off the computer, and tell her I just need to put on ely silent The news plays on the radio, but after the third loop, I don’t think any of us are listening Instead, I i that I’randfather

Most of thestretches of sitting together in fishing boats, waiting for a pull on the line The sight of hi the turkey like it was his birthright to do so When I was younger, he took me to the zoo--all I can remember is the authority in his voice as he told me about the lions and the bears I don’t remember the lions or the bears themselves, just the sense of them that he created