“I don’t really know, but maybe those of us who go to school, Dewey, myself, not so much your mother, I guess your father, maybe we lost something Tucker has. It may be we lost a faith in ourselves. When we have to do something, we don’t just do it, we think about doing it; we think about all the people who say certain things shouldn’t be done. And when we’re through thinking about it, we end up not doing it at all. But Tucker, he just knows what he has to do. He doesn’t think about it; he just knows. And he wants to go now and I’m going too. I’m not going to tell him he’s leaving a secure job and people who honestly care about him. I’m just going with him. And not just because I love him, but because I love myself. I think maybe, if I do whatever he tells me to do, and don’t think about it, well, for a while, I’ll be following him and something inside him, but I think maybe some day I’ll be following something inside me that I don’t even know about yet. He’ll teach me to listen to it.

“I wanted you to know why I was going because maybe it’ll help you get along better here. If you understand what’s making me go, maybe it’ll help you find something inside yourself that will make you survive whatever your parents decide to do. And your helping yourself, your finding some comfort inside yourself, will be much better than any comfort I can ever give you.

“Well, that’s what I wanted to say.” She got up and started for the door. I still hadn’t looked at her.

I jumped up just as she put her hand on the door knob and called her in sort of a cracking voice, and ran to her and hugged her, and cried. So did she. And then we stood apart and looked at each other.

“Come see me a lot, all right?” She smiled at me. I promised her I would.

Now she’s gone for good and I don’t even know where. I’m just hoping she writes me.