Vanessa shook her head.

“They’re fine, honey,” she said.

The tailor asked Vanessa if the shoulder straps looked even.

Vanessa said they were perfect.

They didn’t ask me another question for the rest of the hour.

The knife made sharp, steady sounds against the wooden cutting board.

I pushed a pile of diced yellow onions to the corner of the board and started on the green bell peppers.

I scraped the seeds into the sink and rinsed the blade.