Page 60 of Joker

“This place.”

I look out over the yard, the bikes, the open space, the quiet movement of men going about their day. “I think I’m starting to.”

He doesn’t say anything to that. Just nods once and looks back out at the same view.

We stand there like that for a minute. Not talking. Not needing to. And somehow it doesn’t feel awkward.

The third time, it’s in the parking lot. I’m walking with Lexi, who is holding Bunny in one hand and my fingers in the other, when he crosses our path with Shadow.

Lexi stops. Looks up at him. Then says, “Hi, Joker.” Like she’s been doing it her whole life.

He pauses. Looks down at her. “Hey, kid.”

She lifts Bunny slightly, like she’s presenting him.

Joker nods once, serious as anything. “Good to see he made it through the night.”

Lexi smiles. Just a little.

That does something strange to my chest. Then he moves on. And we keep going.

The fourth time is in the kitchen again, later, when the light has shifted and the day has settled into something slower.

He reaches past me for a glass.

Our shoulders brush. Neither of us reacts outwardly. But I feel it. Every time. Like a spark that never quite catches but never fully dies either.

By the time evening rolls around, I stop trying to pretend it’s coincidence.

We’re orbiting each other. Not intentionally. Not in a way that feels forced. But consistently enough that I start to anticipate it.

The hallway.

The kitchen.

The yard.

The edges of every space I move through.

He’s there. And I’m aware of him.

Always.

That awareness should make me nervous. It doesn’t. Which might be the most dangerous part of all.

That night, after Lexi is bathed and fed and finally asleep again with Bunny tucked under her chin, I move around the room quietly, straightening small things that don’t need straightening, trying to settle my own restless energy.

I turn down the lamp. Check the door. Check the window.

Old habits.

Then I pause.

Because I hear footsteps in the hallway.

Heavy. Familiar. Not rushed. Not threatening. Just…there.

I go still without meaning to.