198 - One Hundred Ninety Eight

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I woke up in the middle of the night—I’m still at Richie’s loft and I— for a second, I thought I could hear laughter from the other room. 

When I was very, very small, my parents would have these two couples over for dinner once a month. They would play faro—which is an absolutely ancient game that my mom’s dad used to play with her when she was growing up and, I swear, my parents were the last people in the world to play it—

But anyway, they’d have their friends over and we’d all have dinner together and then they’d play cards until about midnight—or at least, it felt like they were up until late, but I guess I was going to bed so early then. But our house wasn't very big and my room was just off the kitchen, the only room where we had a table big enough for six people and I’d fall asleep to the sounds of their murmuring voices. And if I woke up at all, I’d hear that—their hushed laughter, like a warm breeze coming in from the next room. 

That’s how I feel. In this loft, in Sylvie’s shop, in this whole city—like I’m just the next room over. Maybe I was just dreaming about the times we used to have in this loft, or maybe I really did hear laughter from the living room. Because I’ve heard things before—I’ve seen things. The man in the hotel room in Colorado—I think he really was there. I think our worlds overlapped, just enough, that we got a glimpse. 

And maybe that’s happening here. Richie isn’t in this loft anymore, not unless he got out early, but there’s something nice, comforting, in thinking that this place, even now, with whoever occupies it, is still filled with joy. 

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