Chapter 58 - A Test With No Score
Leo's birthday party was held in the green-shuttered house because he asked for it there. Dorothy baked the train cake. Adrian arrived early enough to help hang paper lanterns. Vanessa sat on the carpet assembling a track.
I didn't attend. I was working and had no role in Leo's celebration beyond the card.
That evening a photo arrived showing a small, uneven cake and a mountain of wrapping paper. Leo had drawn faces on both Adrian and Vanessa in the margins of his party program.
“He asked why adults sometimes fight when they love the same person,” Adrian told me later.
“What did you say?”
“That sometimes adults are afraid and forget to listen. He asked if we could practice.”
I could hear Adrian smile. “He suggested a practice schedule.”
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“Of course he did. He's related to you.”
We laughed, not because anything had been solved, but because the child hadn't been reduced to the argument. He still wanted cake, trains, and people who kept their promises.
