Amy Hempel, “Today Will Be a Quiet Day” →
That morning, before waking his children, the father had canceled their music lessons and decided to make a day of it. He wanted to know how they were, is all. Just—how were they. He thought his kids were as self-contained as one of those dogs you sometimes see carrying home its own leash. But you could read things wrong.
Could you ever.
It’s a beautiful, unseasonably cool, breezy August day here on the East Coast. Sometimes, I just need to sit outside on days like this and read this story.