Watching Janyce by Tirzah Tyler Janyce's curly black bangs hung over her face and partially blocked her vision, but she barely noticed. Through her bangs, she could still see a picture of a northern cardinal, her father's favorite kind of bird to watch. Janyce slowly turned the glossy page of the new book she had been looking at, and she wondered if her father missed her as much as she missed him. "Excuse me, ma'am," said a woman's voice. Janyce looked up from her spot on the carpet where she was sitting cross-legged. "We will be closing in 15 minutes," the woman said. Her kind smile brightened her exhausted-looking face with comforting warmth. "Are you ready to check out?" she asked. "CHARLOTTE" was printed on her nametag. Janyce looked at her watch and realized that she had been at the bookstore for almost two hours. "Um, sure." Charlotte held out her hand and helped Janyce rise from the floor. Janyce brushed her bangs away from her face and followed Charlotte to the register. For the first time, Janyce noticed the price that was printed on the back of the bird-watching book. "Whoa, I don't have $39.95," Janyce said. "I'm sorry. I can't buy this." She handed the book to Charlotte. Charlotte received the book and grinned gently. "You weren't really planning to buy that, were you?" "Um, no," Janyce replied, feeling her face flush. "I was just thinking about my dad. He's in Switzerland for a work assignment, and he won't be back for a few months." "I knew there had to be something making you so sad," Charlotte said with a sympathetic frown. "What do you mean?" Charlotte gestured for Janyce to step aside while she quickly rang up a customer's purchase. "Well, I noticed that you spent an hour and a half in our nature section. I was beginning to think you were going to camp out there overnight." Janyce laughed and wiped away a tear that she felt trickle down her cheek. "My dad and I watch birds," she explained. "It's a hobby that we like to do together