Page 52 of The Secret to Belonging

ja takk, you say. art school sounds great

you need to clear it with your school in California

make sure you’ll still be able to graduate

you wait to call home until night

when the rates go down

when your mother hears your voice

she’s certain something’s wrong

you realize

every time the phone rings

she panics

braces for tragedy

expecting the worst

parenting an addict really fucks a person up

too bad parenting a nonaddict

doesn’t seem to improve things at all

you write to Maura about art school

she loves the idea

tactile creativity, sensory pleasure

visceral connection of body and craft

exploring a culture through art and beauty

you will blossom there, she says

(plus colleges will love it)

you never told her college isn’t going to happen

the school sits on a forested hill overlooking a fjord

across the water is a mountain called the sleeping queen

the silhouette of a woman in repose

entirely indifferent to first-day-of-school jitters

everyone gathers in the kafena

a round room with tables and chairs

fireplace in the center