We Are Okay

In August, Marin awakes to the sound of Gramps leaving the house. She makes boiled eggs and leaves him two along with a teabag ready in a cup. She goes to the park with her friend Ben and his dog Laney, and they talk about good memories and how unknown New York feels. Marin gets home after 8 pm, but there is no sign of Gramps; the eggs and tea remain untouched on the kitchen counter. She goes to the beach to look for him, thinking of Gramps’s frailty, the bloody handkerchiefs, and his habit of walking the dangerous surf. She returns home and knocks at his door, screaming his name through the door but gets no response.

Marin returns to the kitchen and prepares dinner. Increasingly anxious and upset, Marin starts calling his friends to see if they’ve seen him, but none have. Next, she calls Javier, who urges her to open Gramps’s door and, when she can’t bring herself to do so, tells her he is heading over and calling the police. Panicked, Marin takes the photograph of her mother from the wall and removes it from its frame to be closer to her.