Winter Arrives in Manhattan

We got destroyed in the rain
Absolutely destroyed
I was--Kit, can you see if you can get us a taxi?
Thank you, sweetie
Mom can't hail a taxi
She doesn't have the psychological resolve
At the moment
I was in charge of luggage
That's all your father put me in charge of
And what happened?

The luggage got lost

Oh don't worry, sweetheart
I only packed ugly clothes
I had a feeling this would happen
I told the people at the airline
That if they found the luggage
They could go ahead and burn whatever was inside of them
Just don't bother us while we're in New York
Visiting our little girl

Here, while your father gets the cab
Sit and talk to your mother
It's been years since I've seen you
All right, it's been months
But September to December
Is a very long stretch of time, sweetheart
Mountains can rise and fall in that time
And, you know, people change

And you didn't come home for Thanksgiving
Which, I understand, lab work and blah blah blah
All I did was cry
Your aunt said she felt like
We at a funeral for the turkey
But she missed you too
We all did
Next year I want you home for everything
All the American holidays and the Canadian ones
You can bring the lab work with you, if you want
Or we can keep coming to you
I really don't mind
It's not like there's all that much to do at home

You know, when I was your age
The thought of going to New York was...

Well, I thought about moving here once
I came here, right around this time
Just as winter was arriving

My girlfriend from high school was living in Manhattan
And she had this fantastic little apartment
Right in the heart of everything
And she was going to let me sleep on her couch until I found a place

My mother heard about that plan
And squashed it
I came home for Christmas
And was informed
That I would not be going back to New York

That was back when if you parents told you
You weren't doing something
It meant you weren't doing it
And there wasn't going to be
Any discussion about it either

I went to my room
Wrote my girlfriend a nice letter
Thanking her for her trouble
And letting her know
That I wouldn't be returning to Manhattan

Then I got in bed
And I didn't get out again
For six days

It was like I had been forced to break up
With the city of my dreams

My mother kept bringing me food
And I'd whisper things under my breath at her

Well, not things, really
Just one thing

I whispered--'I hate you'

Just that--'I hate you'--over and over again
Until I actually did

And I never stopped

Well, not until a few months ago
When you moved here

Then I understood

My mother was just lonely

Living in that house with my father
Who wasn't exactly a chatterbox
Yearning to mother again
And knowing that I was living
In this big, dangerous city
Sleeping on someone's couch

It was too much for her

Just like you living here
Is too much for me sometimes

But...

I don't ever want you whispering at me
What I whispered at my mother
When she'd bring me soup
And rub my back
And try to convince me
That I was better off at home
With her

When really
It was the other way around

She was better off
With me there

Truth be told, I'm better off
When you're around

I'm a mother
You're my daughter
How could I not be better
When you're sitting next to me
Holding my hand
Like when you were a little girl
And I'd take you downtown
To the museum?

You used to want to run ahead
To the mummy room
And I'd want to stop you
But then I'd hear that little voice whispering--

'I hate you I hate you I hate you'

And I'd let you run

I'd still stay within sight of you
But I didn't want you to feel me
Holding you back

Then when you told me you were moving here
I wanted to tell you 'No'
You're too young
The city's too dangerous
It's different than I was here
It's--

And then I heard the voice
And I said--'Okay'

And when you moved
I got in bed
And didn't get out again
For six days

And when I was lying there
I wanted my mother
To come bring me soup
And rub my back

I don't think I ever needed her
As much as I did then
Isn't that...funny?

And sort of...tragic?

Well, it looks like your father's caught us a cab

My God, I forgot the way this place feels
In the winter

When it first arrives
And you show up
Having been gone for awhile

It's almost like you can feel it
Welcoming you back

It's like you can hear it whispering--

I missed you, sweetheart

Well, let's get going

I want you to show me
Your new life