The Conversation

All the while he talks to

the boy, their son, on the phone,

she is interrupting, telling him something

to say, not to say, indicating

that she needs to talk to the boy

herself. Rather than dampening

her enthusiasm or trying

to listen to both at once, finally

he hands her the phone. And rather

than resentment, what he feels

inside himself is the primordial

upwelling of tenderness.

Copyright © Forrest Gander. Used with permission of the author.