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I nodded. Sensible enough.
“So, no, Professor. There is no separating the art from the artist.
“But you can separate what the words make you feel and what you know about the author. Champion the former. Be cautious with the latter.”
This was one of the most interesting discussions I’d ever had.
It reminded me of June and me, sitting in our balcony once little Sally was fast asleep, discussing poems and prose and how they moved us beyond the humdrum motions of daily life.
She’d transported me back to another time. I felt grateful for that.
“Who did you write about?”
She chuckled once more and winked at me. I liked the sound. It was something like if you mixed a sparrow’s cheep with a squirrel’s squeak.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out, Professor. Think of it as a little surprise waiting for you.”
My old friend.She felt like London rain.
Impossibly familiar and oddly nostalgic.
I suddenly longed for home. Not this home, but the history I’d left behind. For my mother and her pies, and dad and his love for the classics.
Our quietude was interrupted by another call from Sophia.
“Hey.” She sounded a little flustered. “I’m sorry, Elijah. But Sally’s woken up after a bad dream, and she’s crying for you.”
I cut the call immediately and looked at Rory. I would have loved to stay and allow this conversation to come to an organic end.
She... she just looked into my eyes and shook her head. “There’s ages left for conversations. Go home to your kid.”
I pulled her into a tight hug. “This was one of the most meaningful evenings of my life. I have you to thank for that.”
She returned my hug. Like cinnamon, rain, and a summer shower. That’s what she was.
“Go on!” She gave me a slight push. “I’m going to see you tomorrow, if you survive the essays.”
That made me laugh. I stepped to the outer room. Noah and Benji were working on a new piece. Noah was working, and Benji looked like he was back in school having fun with plasticine.
“Guys, I gotta go home.”
They looked up, saw my face, and immediately knew.
“Give her our love. And bring her to school one day. We’ll go out to lunch. She can come learn to make dolls from Benji. Or he can make her a kitchen set. Or a GI-Joe, if she’s into that.”
I snickered all the way out of the studio and into the cab. Honestly, it couldn’t drive fast enough. I needed to be back with my little girl.
When I finally got there, she was sitting on the bed. She jumped into my arms the minute I walked in, and I held her close, whispering sweet nothings into her ears.
“Where did you go, Daddy?”
“I went to find an angel, darling.”
Her eyes lit up immediately. “A tooth faiwy?”
I smiled. “Something like that. What dream did you see, honey?”
“I don’ know. Dawk. Jus’ dawk.”
