[It's what he does. It means she doesn't look at him scared, like she should. Means she can smile and act like he was strong and brave, and not a coward hiding in the corner and under the bed, stealing blades out of the pencil sharpeners at art time and boxes of matches for the kitchen stoves and the lighter from the nurse who smoked during lunches, who threw the thing out before it was wholly spent and didn't watch closely enough for a little boy who went rummaging in through the garbage after.]
[It means she can act like he can be happy, when he can barely remember the years spent in college when happiness felt like less of an unattainable goal, and more like an actual standard.]
Well, so'll you, yeah?
[Nice change of subject there, Tim. Very graceful.]
no subject
[It's what he does. It means she doesn't look at him scared, like she should. Means she can smile and act like he was strong and brave, and not a coward hiding in the corner and under the bed, stealing blades out of the pencil sharpeners at art time and boxes of matches for the kitchen stoves and the lighter from the nurse who smoked during lunches, who threw the thing out before it was wholly spent and didn't watch closely enough for a little boy who went rummaging in through the garbage after.]
[It means she can act like he can be happy, when he can barely remember the years spent in college when happiness felt like less of an unattainable goal, and more like an actual standard.]
Well, so'll you, yeah?
[Nice change of subject there, Tim. Very graceful.]