The time is coming to give up the apartment. There has long been some denial about this. No. We are going to live here forever, her bud has said, more than a few times. But the wife has already begun spending more time upstate where it’s easier to care for the dog, whose mobility is more limited now; there’s a ramp off the back porch, so he can more easily go outside.
We’re going to have to be friends who make plans now, she tells her bud. It isn’t that they don’t already make some plans ahead of time, but their favorite plan is no plan, just hanging out at the end of the day watching a movie, ordering in. Plans are made with the kid, but her dad is away both times she’s back in the city. We have just been told not to touch things, especially our faces. She and the kid have dinner. They hug. They don’t know that it’s the last time for a while.