“Oh thank god!”
“What?”
“I thought you were going to say, that you thought they were balls of gas.”
“Balls of gas?”
“Pumba.”
“Ah.” How the hell we got onto this topic I’ll never know, but at least the heaviness was lessened. Even if it was only a little bit, I’d take what I could get.
“Do you really believe that?”
“Believe what?”
“That when people die, they become stars in the sky. Up there to guide us?”
Now it was my turn to be caught off guard. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly. I wasn’t sure what I really believed in. So many things I thought I believed in had been shattered. What was left, I didn’t even know these days.
“I hope it’s true.”
After a long pregnant pause, I wasn’t sure why, but I found myself whispering, “Me too.”
Then the silence enveloped us again. This time though, it was different. It wasn’t serious and it wasn’t sad. It was thoughtful. Like we were both lost in our own heads. Just needing a moment to find a direction or a little sliver of peace.
I opened my mouth to speak, but before the words had a chance to come out, Nate’s deep voice shocked me. It was deep and steady and completely caught me off guard. “Today is my son’s second birthday.”
Well, fuck me sideways.
