Michelle drops her son off at our house earlier than expected. Matthew joins us at the kitchen table as we finish dinner. Mira defrosts and then reheats the leftover Ziti his mother brought. Frankie plays waiter-captain, as he sets Matthew’s place-setting and pours him a glass of cranberry juice.

After dinner, the boys and I engage in conversation about current events and History. At one point, Matthew and I exchange ideas so long that Frankie starts looking up things on his phone.

“Tell him about Northern Ireland,” I say to Frankie at some point.

And he does.

Later, as the boys laugh and talk from Frankie’s room, I wonder if I talked with them too long.

cloudy night
resting my head
on her lap

Photo by Devon Janse van Rensburg

first published in Image Curve, August 6, 2020