After dinner, Daniel helped his mother clear the plates.
I stood at the sink washing glasses.
Daniel looked over his shoulder.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Are you happy?”
Karen stopped drying a plate.
She looked at him.
Then she smiled.
“Yes, sweetheart. I am.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
He returned to the table.
A few minutes later, he stood beside me at the sink.
“Take care of her,” he said quietly.
I looked at him.
“I will.”
He shook his head.
“No, I mean really. Don’t assume she’s fine because she says she is. She spent my entire childhood making sure everyone else was okay.”
I understood.
“I won’t.”
He watched me for a moment.
Then he held out his hand.
I stared at it.
“What is this?”
“A handshake. Don’t make it weird.”
I laughed and shook his hand.
He pulled me into a brief, awkward hug.
Then he stepped back.
“And for the record, you’re still an idiot.”
