Page 104

is a small apartment sized blonde wood rectangle with four

chairs.

I sit down across from Tildy. She sets her arms on the

table and scowls. She’s unhappy with not getting the answer to

her question. It’s a little bit scary for me to think that kids now

can just go on the internet and find all the answers they need.

They don’t even need to spell or know how to read most of the

time, since they can just dictate to their tablet. I suppose it can

be a great thing and a bit of a terrible thing. I can understand

why parents sometimes fear technology when it comes to their

children’s health and safety.

Adley comes into the room carrying three huge bowls

of mac and cheese. It smells divine. I can’t believe she just

whipped that up from scratch. Nothing that looks this gooey

and cheesy and amazing ever came from a packet or a box.

“Tell you what,” Adley says to a sulky Tildy. “If you

eat at least half of that, we can play Memory after with the

cards and then we can get out the board games. You can take

your pick! And then we’ll watch a movie and maybe have ice

cream. But only if you eat. And stop pouting.”

Board games, movies, and ice cream must be a magic

combination, because Tildy snaps out of it, grabs her fork, and

starts shoveling macaroni into her mouth.

I pick up my fork and start eating without looking up.

It’s delicious. I can’t look at either Tildy or Adley because my

eyes are a little bit stingy. She has no idea what this means to

me. Being here. Being a part of her life. How much all of this

has meant. I just need to have a moment, then I’ll be back to

smiling and happy and back to getting my butt kicked at cards.

It’s probably the most fun I’ve ever had losing at