Author’s Note: The following was submitted on 1/29/2022 for the Reader’s Write section of The Sun magazine. The theme readers were invited to write about was “the bus.”

For years, my dad took the bus into the city for work. It was a short walk to the bus stop, then an hour’s ride, from our home in suburban New Jersey. He’d carry a small, leather briefcase and read the paper to pass the time.

During my freshman year in high school, my parents divorced, and dad got a studio apartment in Manhattan. On weekends, he’d sometimes take the bus to visit but it felt awkward having him return to the home that he no longer lived in. It was better for me to take the bus into the city to visit him. Those are some of my most cherished memories of our time together. Walking the city streets. Going to old movies. Eating out. Going to Giants’ games.

Every weekend would end the same way, with me getting on line at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. The ride home gave me the opportunity to reflect on and savor the time spent together.

After high school, I got a job at a department store in the city. After two days, I quit, unwilling to make the daily commute. It made me appreciate even more the sacrifices that dad made for us for all those years.