Page 28

I snickered.

We shared a smile.

I pivoted my attention back to Cody. “You can try a different high school in East Van or we can look elsewhere. Maybe somewhere entirely new?”

“What about Alaina?”

“She’s made it clear she wants what’s best for you. Way more mature than any eleven-year-old should be. She’s got a couple of close friends, but you remember Glynnis moved away in June. Alaina figures if she has to do the same, that’s okay.”

“Glynnis moved to Abbotsford.” Keegan picked at his jean shorts.

“That’s right. I forgot.”Where is he going with this?

“Abbotsford is near Mission City.”

“Yes, right across the bridge. I’ll bet Glynnis’s house isn’t more than twenty minutes away.” I held that thought in my mind for a very long moment. “So if we moved to Abbotsford or Mission City, then Glynnis and Alaina would be close again.”

Keegan gazed at me and blinked several times.

I wanted to point out he’d only been here three days. That he’d been ensconced in a camp set up for kids like himself.

Except I’d met Aaron, Arnav, and Foster. All of whom had suggested Mission City was becoming a more-welcoming place. Aaron and Foster were both Black, like myself. Arnav was Indian. All implied they were mostly accepted for who they were. “This is a big decision. One we’d need to make as a family. I promise I’ll talk to Alaina—if you still feel this way when she emerges from the wilderness.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” I wasn’t going to promise we’d move to Mission City—because that was a monumental decision—but I could promise to consider his request. I could honor the fact he was growing into a bright and brave young man. One who would always feel like an orphan—his word. I could love him forever, and he’d still feel loss.

I accepted that.

“Okay. Those are, I think, really productive discussions to have as a family.” Cody smiled. “Now, why don’t we talk about what happened?”

So we did. Turned out, Keegan had not been paying attention during a hike and had been startled by a racoon and screamed, then jumped and fell over.

He was horrifically embarrassed that a little gray, furry creature had set him off. But his mom always warned him about the critters—especially that they were vicious. And, living in East Van, having a respectful fear of the little shits wasn’t a bad thing. Since racoons were mostly nocturnal, Keegan had never seen one in person.

None of the other kids had laughed at him. In fact, Paisley had tried to reassure him. But he’d been humiliated, and that had led to the panic attack which had spiraled out of control.

Cody had intervened and guided Keegan away from the group.

Keegan asked for me in the middle of his attack.

I’d dropped everything to get here as quickly as possible, repeating over and over in my mind how glad I was to have chosen to stay in Mission City.

Except Keegan wasn’t pleased I’d come running, even though he’d asked for me. Once he was out of the crisis, he was embarrassed.

Now, he said he might want to move here.

I didn’t know how to react to that.

So I held my thoughts to myself.

Cody gently asked Keegan about what had happened during the school year. And, to me, why I’d reached out to employee assistance.

Never had I been more glad for my employers and their generosity in providing free, anonymous counseling for their employees.

After about twenty minutes, Keegan checked his watch. “It’s about lunchtime.”

“You’re hungry?” Sometimes, when he was upset, he didn’t want to eat.