“He fed the crusts to the birds by the playground fence.”

“That boy shouldn’t be sitting there with dry white bread crusts while the rest of the school eats a hot meal,” Irene said, patting her apron pocket before reaching for another empty sleeve from the tray.

“Nine hundred eight dollars and forty cents pays off all twenty-three overdue accounts on the district list,” I said, writing the figures carefully on the back of a grocery receipt.

“And your last check from the shop was nine hundred fifteen dollars,” Lily said, swinging her feet under her chair as she slid ten finished rolls into a flat plastic organizer tray.