Ten.One Thousand, Nine Hundred & Forty-Nine

1. He’s not awake yet.

2. I’m not being a jerk. I’m trying to get us all out of the house on time.

3. Long, dark, quiet ride.

4. They stop my bag. I think the hold-up is the bajillion pens and pencils until I remember that my wine key is in the pocket. She says I can check it. I tell her I’m just trying to escort my minor to his gate. I can’t tell if she’s feigning pity.

5. I may regret this decision.

6. A very bad accident.

7. He pushes on bones and muscles and presses on ligaments and joints. I don’t always know what he’s doing, but it feels like magic.

8. Sun, sun, sun.

9. At first, the group is small, but then it grows, one by one by one. I think I count 9 girls. That’s a good little group of incoming freshmen. I get a little excited.

10. But what do we have? Each other.

11. He is doing just fine.