The Poet Professor.

Last Monday, the three of us went to the college where I used to teach. Joseph Bathanti, who taught both Josh and me alongside Kay, was giving a reading.

Josh took the day off work, and we took Oliver out of school early. The first time Bathanti came to the college, I was pregnant. He recognized Josh and me! He came again when Oliver was tiny.

This time, he and his wife, Joan, almost walked past us in the library but stopped. He said, "It's you guys!" He talked to Oliver and said, "You must be...seven?" How could he remember so much? We talked about Kay a little, and I almost cried. She and Bathanti were dear friends, so it was a comfort for us to be with someone else who cared so much about her.

Meanwhile, I was getting such a welcome and so many hugs from my former colleagues. My former office mate looked at me as if I were a lovely ghost. Joyce, my former boss, said that they miss me. I looked around, thinking about how happy I often was there before I got too sick.

An administrator hugged me and said, "Are you keeping up with Bruce? You two were buddies. You were best buddies." Something about that was so validating--acknowledgement and acceptance. He even seemed pleased.

The reading was lovely as always. Afterward, we exchanged more hugs, and Bathanti kissed the top of Oliver's head. Joan asked me questions about Oliver's special needs. And I got to see Bruce a little. I left feeling light. No one had forgotten me.