Summary

It is some time in the future, and Art is holding a small child in his arms. The child is flipping through the pages of an old copy of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. The child asks, “What’s to-day?” (223). Art tries multiple answers, but the child is still confused. Eventually he realizes the child is confused by the hyphen. Curious, the child asks why today cannot be a verb, like “to run or to do or to eat?” (225). Art consider embarking on a lecture about grammar, but then he realizes the wisdom of the child’s question. What is it to be in the present? He looks out at the garden and down at the happy child and is content.

It was early in the morning on Boxing Day when Sophia banged on Iris’ door and asked her to keep the...