The Answer Is No: A Short Story

“I miss making up. I don’t miss the fights, I don’t miss nagging and arguing and getting upset about the ways in which we’re so different, but I miss . . . making up. It’s like we’re choosing each other all over again when that happens.”

It’s so silly, but I miss another thing, too, from when the kids were very young. They used to come running and jump into my arms when I came home. Jump into my arms. Have you ever experienced that?”

Lucas and the woman in the purple dress shake their heads from their respective balconies. Then the woman in the green shirt says softly:

“It’s . . . unbelievable. You never forget how it feels. Sometimes I think that children should be teenagers first, and become small afterwards, because it’s unbearable for parents to get used to the fact that they don’t jump anymore.”

J ust to be clear: It’s not that Lucas hates other people. He just really enjoys being where other people aren’t.