earlier, and I don’t tell her I missed the appointment after school. Instead, I hand her the empty sandwich wrapper.
She keeps me embraced, and I feel her chin resting on the top of my head. I know from her silence that she’s crying softly. We stand there looking at the yellow leaves falling off the tree beside us for several minutes.
When we go inside, I put the chart on display on the fridge. I place a sparkly, purple heart on today’s “Lunch Break” box, and for the first time all day, I feel myself smile.
On the inside, I clap for myself.