After a few minutes, we were both lying on the ground, breathing hard, still
laughing. He finally stood up and pulled me to my feet, knowing he couldn’t
waste minutes if he wanted a shower before my parents came home.
Once he was in the shower, I washed my hands in the sink and just stood
there, wondering what he meant earlier when he said we were just alike.
Was it a compliment? It sure felt like one. Was he saying that he thought I
was strong, too? Because I certainly didn’t feel strong most of the time. In that
moment, just thinking about him made me feel weak. I wondered what I was
going to do about the way I was starting to feel when I was around him.
I also wondered how long I can keep hiding him from my parents. And how
long he’ll be staying at that house. Winters in Maine are unbearably cold and
he won’t survive without a heater.
Or blankets.
I gathered myself and went in search of all the spare blankets I could find. I
was going to give them to him when he got out of the shower, but it was already
five and he left in a hurry.
I’ll give them to him tomorrow.
—Lily
Dear Ellen,
Harry Connick Jr. is freaking hilarious. I’m not sure if you’ve ever had him
on your show, because I hate to admit I’ve probably missed an episode or two
since you’ve been on the air, but if you’ve never had him, you should. Actually,
have you ever watched Late Night with Conan O’Brien? He has this guy
named Andy who sits on the couch for every episode. I wish Harry could sit on
your couch for every episode. He just has the best one-liners, and the two of you
toget.her would be epic.
I just want to say thank you. I know that you don’t have a show on TV for
the sole purpose of making me laugh, but sometimes it feels that way. Sometimes
my life just makes me feel like I’ve lost the ability to laugh or smile, but then I
turn on your show and no matter what mood I’m in when I turn on the TV, I
always feel better by the time your show is over.
So yeah. Thanks for that.
I know you probably want an update on Atlas, and I’ll give you one in a
second. But first I need to tell you about what happened yesterday.
My mother is a teaching assistant over at Brimer Elementary. It’s a bit of a
drive and that’s why she never gets home until around five o’clock. My dad