really bad ones. And the other grown-ups have to figure out what to do. Your mom’s going to figure it out. She’s the smartest person I know. She always figures it out.”
Ben thought about that.
“Okay,” he said.
A few minutes later, he was asleep.
Sophie wasn’t asleep. She was looking out the window. She’s eight, and she’s quiet, and she
notices everything. She’s just like me.
“Mommy,” she said. “Aunt Rachel said it was a joke.”
“I know, baby.”
“It wasn’t funny.”
“No,” I said. “It wasn’t.”
“Then why did she say it was a joke?”
I turned around in my seat. I looked at my daughter.
“Sophie,” I said. “Listen to me. This is really important. Sometimes people do mean things and then they say just kidding or it’s a joke so they don’t get in trouble. So nobody will be mad at them.
