She replied the next morning: Chloe says she would like to finish some of these someday, but only the ones she is ready for.

And she insists the scorecard is completely accurate.

I read that message to Kenneth.

He shook his head solemnly.

“Hannah would demand a recount.”

“Absolutely,” I said.

I set the scorecard in a frame on the bookshelf, where it could remind us that the girls had found friendship in a place where joy was scarce.

PART 19: An Ordinary Saturday