“Fair enough.”

Later, Rebecca washed the dishes while I helped clear the table.

She seemed more relaxed than I had seen her all summer.

She told me the after-school arrangements had allowed her to accept two regular shifts instead of scrambling for unpredictable ones.

It wasn’t enough to fix everything, but she had begun setting aside a little money each payday.

“The boys asked if we could buy Clarence a birthday cake,” she said.

“I told them one hundred and two candles might be dangerous.”