When my son's teacher called and asked why he kept bringing home an empty lunchbox every day, I immediately assumed another child was taking his food. The truth was far more heartbreaking, and it changed the way I saw my little boy forever.
The kitchen was still dark when I poured my coffee. It was the kind of dark that pressed against the window and made the small lamp above the sink feel like the only warm thing in the world.
I had learned to move quietly in those pre-dawn hours, the way widows learn to move, careful not to wake the grief sleeping in the next room.
Six months without Daniel, and the house still felt like it was holding its breath.
I counted the coins on the counter into a small pile, then slid them into the empty coffee tin where I kept the grocery money.
I had 43 dollars until Friday.
The stack of unopened bills near the toaster had grown again.
I turned it so the return addresses faced the wall.
