“Dinner soon, hon?”
“Ten minutes,” I said, still counting.
Sam didn’t pause at the door. She came straight through the kitchen with someone behind her — a girl about her age, hair pulled into a messy ponytail, wearing a hoodie that was too heavy for the weather with the sleeves pulled all the way down to cover her hands. She clutched the straps of a faded purple backpack like they were the only solid thing available.
“Mom, Lizie’s eating with us.”
She said it the way she said things she had already decided — not as a question, not as a request. As a fact she was informing me of.
I had a knife in my hand and dinner portioned for three.
The girl — Lizie — had not looked up. Her eyes stayed on the linoleum. Her sneakers were scuffed along the toes. And when she turned slightly, I could see the outline of her ribs through the thin fabric of her shirt beneath the open hoodie.
She looked like someone who wanted very badly to be small enough not to cause trouble.
“Hi there,” I said, trying to make my voice warmer than my thoughts were in that moment. “Grab a plate, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. The words barely made it to the edge of the table.
She Ate With the Careful Precision of Someone Who Has Learned Not to Take More Than She’s Sure She’s Allowed
I watched her while I pretended not to.
Lizie did not eat the way hungry people typically eat. She measured. One careful spoon of rice. A single piece of chicken. Two carrots placed on the side. She glanced up at every sound — every fork clatter, every chair scrape — the way a person holds themselves when they are not sure whether the room is safe.
Dan tried, because Dan always tried.
“So, Lizie. How long have you and Sam been friends?”
A small shrug. Her eyes stayed low. “Since last year.”
Sam jumped in before the silence could grow. “We have gym together. Lizie’s the only one who can run the mile without complaining.”
The tiniest smile crossed Lizie’s face at that. She reached for her water glass, drank it completely, refilled it from the pitcher, and drank again. Her hands were not entirely steady.
