Mom returned the picture to the box.
“That’s a sensible answer.”
I laughed.
“Don’t sound so surprised.”
“I’m your mother. I’m allowed.”
For the first time in weeks, I laughed without feeling guilty.
That evening, Lia suggested taking her brothers out for pizza.
I grabbed my keys.
“Absolutely.”
Oliver noticed my bare wrist as we headed toward the door.
“Mom, where’s your bracelet?”
“I gave it away.”
“Why?”
I crouched beside him.
“Sometimes, people make promises they don’t keep. And sometimes, you have to let those promises go.”
He thought about that for a moment.
Then he disappeared upstairs.
A minute later, he returned holding a bracelet made from colored beads.
“I made this for you at school.”
The beads were uneven, and he’d spelled my name with an extra letter.
I held it carefully.
“You made this for me?”
He nodded.
I slipped it over my wrist.
“It’s perfect.”
