Reading in Bed

by Thaddeus Rutkowski

I say I’m going to read in bed,
and she asks, “Can I read with you?”
“Sure,” I say, but before she gets there
I pull up a blanket to cover my body.
She easily climbs the ladder
and crawls over me.

“We could read The Lord of the Rings aloud,” I say,
remembering that, years before,
I read the book to her
but didn’t get past the first chapter,
about Bilbo’s birthday party,
where he puts on the Ring and vanishes.

I show her the book I’m reading, called Grendel,
and tell her it’s hard to read
She says she read it freshman year in high school.
“How were you able to do that?” I ask.
“It was different from the other books
we had to read,” she says.

I ask what book she’s reading.
I see flames on the front cover.
The title is How to Set a Fire,
and the book is about a teenage arson club.
“It’s young adult but sold in the adult section,” she says.

“I’m going to sleep,” I say,
and she starts to crawl over me
in the opposite direction.
I move over so she can get past more easily.