forgetting me

30

New York City
August 26th, 2002

Lainie hated to watch him go.

Every morning, she sat on the sofa with a book, pretending to read. She would watch William collect his things and leave the apartment. He always looked back at her, and she always immediately glanced back down at her book. When he closed the door behind him, she would run to the window and wait to see him walk on the streets below. Today, he seemed to take even longer than usual to leave, and he glanced over at Lainie more often than usual.

He shut the door, and Lainie dashed for the window.

"Why don't you speak to him?"

Lainie shrugged. "It feels weird. Talking with you feels weird."

John smiled slightly. He put his arm around Lainie and joined her in watching for William. Once they saw him, the two moved to sit back on the sofa.

"He's hurting, honey."

Lainie frowned. "He doesn't seem upset," she answered.

John sighed. "He doesn't, does he? That kid has gotten too good at suppressing his emotions."

Lainie gave John a sad smile. "I'll talk to him when he gets home."

John ruffled her hair. "And how are you, little lady? You're a lot like your father, you know."

Lainie shrugged again. "I think I'm better. But that still sounds wrong."

"It's not," John said. "Try it out sometime."

Lainie fell silent. She stared down at her fingers, picking at her nails.

"What about you?" she said, glancing over at John.

"Hm?"

"What do I call you?"

John thought about the question for a long while.

"If you'd like baby steps, Jay or John is okay. But you could also call me grandpa, or pop, or whatever you'd like to."

Lainie nodded. She didn't say anything else, and picked up her book. She started reading, and this time, she wasn't faking it.