The Loy

It all started one afternoon when my middle daughter burst into my room screaming Loy and rubbing her nose on me. She then ran out in fits of laughter. There are six people in my household: an adult couple, Lisa and David, along with their son, William, who shares a room with his parents. I am William's godfather. Additionally, I have two daughters, Elizabeth and Christina, who share a bedroom with a bunk bed. The children are listed from youngest to oldest: William, Elizabeth, and Christina. In time, the word “Loy” became commonplace. Each of the children responded to it in different ways. Elizabeth, fifteen, invented and used the phrase the most. William, six, mostly said it in response to Elizabeth. Christina, twenty, hated it, and the others teased her with the word, sometimes chanting it in ominous tones dozens of times. It all seemed playful at first glance. When Elizabeth started saying