wanted to say.” He smiled awkwardly. “And some of them were jokes that really didn’t need a second audience.”
Claire unfolded one about a disastrous math exam. At the bottom, he had drawn a small calculator wearing a hat. She laughed before she could decide whether the joke deserved it. He looked relieved. The conversation became easier once they had something mildly ridiculous to share.
They carried the lunchbox to the kitchen table. Claire read some notes aloud and left others folded. Her father did not demand an explanation for every memory. He made tea, found an empty envelope and asked whether she wanted to keep the notes or leave them there for later.
She chose a few for her suitcase, including the audition note. The rest went back into the lunchbox. On a clean square of paper, she wrote, “You can miss me and still enjoy the quiet.” She
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