A little girl with green hair chalk just asked me if my hair was dyed for Halloween. When I told her it was green year round she turned to her dad and screamed:
"YOU SAID GREEN HAIR WAS ILLEGAL AFTER HALLOWEEN! WHY DID YOU LIE?!"
My daughter called me from a house party.
"Hey Mom, can we order a pepperoni pizza?"
We had already eaten dinner.
That’s the code.
"Pepperoni" means: Come get me immediately.
"Cheese" means: Call me back in 5 minutes with an excuse.
"Vegetable" means: I’m okay, just checking in.
She said "Pepperoni."
I didn't ask questions. I didn't ask who was there. I just drove.
She got in the car. "They started taking pills," she whispered.
We drove home in silence.
Codes work because they bypass the panic. Give them a script so they don't have to improvise safety.
Ed makes me emotional. Just his whole vibe & his voice & how he worked that job at the candy store to buy christmas presents for his kids & how he showed up to the eras tour in a suit jacket & combed back hair & how he rented her cd’s from the local library & his sore knees…