She rubbed her thumb over the fine hair on her forearm.
“Tyler said mine looks like a man’s.”
I didn’t understand what I had heard.
“What?”
“He said I should shave it.”
She swallowed, fighting to keep her voice steady.
“He said it’s embarrassing when we hold hands at school because people can see it.”
For several seconds, I couldn’t speak.
Tyler was her first boyfriend. They had been dating for nearly two months, and until that afternoon, I had believed he was a good boy.
He greeted us politely when he visited. He thanked me whenever I served him food. Once, he had helped my husband carry several heavy grocery bags inside without being asked.
I had watched Emma smile whenever his name appeared on her phone. I had listened to her talk about their conversations, their school projects, and the basketball games she sometimes attended to support him.
