I stood on the sidewalk until he disappeared.
When I went inside, my mother was sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea she had not touched. She looked up and tried to read my face.
“Well?”
I leaned against the door.
The house was quiet around us.
“I danced,” I said.
Her hand went to her mouth.
“With someone?”
“With Caleb Turner.”
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Mom.”
She stood too quickly, taking the mug to the sink.
“I’m glad you had fun.”
“I didn’t say I had fun.”
“Did you?”
I looked down at my silver shoes.
The straps had left marks across my feet.
“Yes,” I whispered. “I think I did.”
She turned from the sink.
Her eyes shone.
“Then I’m glad.”
I went to bed thinking maybe life had shifted by one small degree.
