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"And you were…small"

"I was five when I last saw him Before we left to come to the US"

This troubles reat dad--an excellentthe possibility of losing him What must that be like to lose your dad? My dad…I’ What if he died?

"I’ve depressed you See…I should never talk about rew up in a war You can’t help that it’s a depressing subject"

She clears her throat and bounces her knee soain "So, back to the sketch…why did you draw my hand? It’s not a particularly re care not to se the pencilLook here--" On , I point to the bump on the top of the outer wrist "You have a prominent ulnar styloid, but a very thin distal radial-ulnar joint And here--"

"You know the whole anatomy?"

I nod "I draw people…it’s necessary to understand anatomy"

"Wow, I bet Mia uses you as a study partner for e does not need to extend as deeply as hers"

She pushes back her long sleeve to study her wrist, then glances at the drawing as if coht in a million years that my wrists are remarkable"

"Well, you won’t live for a , and I realize I did ain It just in to sketch as we talk I’ a safer subject to draw this tis centered over the ice rink For a while, this helps With Jenna beside h the rest of the time that people file in--past us in our row, in the seats in front of us and behind--and even to the introduction of the players as they skate onto the ice when their jersey nu as I can focus on my pad and only look up occasionally

It’s harder to block out the bright lights, the s all around us It’s loud and Jenna has to lean close when she wants to tell h I like the way it feels when her hair brushes against rass Like ripe pears

But after a while, it’s too hard--and the arena too dark--to concentrate on my sketchpad, so I’m forced to tuck it away inand so is the presence of the crowd It feels like ants crawling across hs to cal either

Jenna, however, is keeping a close watch on ain and says, "You okay?"

"U a little…pickles?"

Her phrase is complete nonsense, but I remember that’s because it’s our code So I nod "Yes Pickles Sour dill pickles"

Her brows rise "We don’t want sour dill pickles I, um, have an idea Maybe it will help you take your ame"