“But you worked so much, Mom,” she whispered.
“That was my part, baby.”
She looked up.
I brushed a loose strand of hair away from her face.
“Having fun was yours.”
“But you worked so much, Mom.”
***
The next morning, Dorothy came grocery shopping with us.
Mia reached for her favorite cereal, checked the price, then quietly replaced it with the cheaper box beside it.
I’d watched her do that a hundred times.
This time, I understood.
I picked up the first box and put it back in the cart.
I’d watched her do that a hundred times.
“Mom, that’s $6.”
“I know.”
“The other one’s three.”
“I know that too.”
Mia waited.
I asked, “Which one do you actually like?”
She glanced at the box.
“That one.”
“Then that’s the one we’re buying,” I said.
A few feet away, Dorothy picked up her favorite cookies.
“Which one do you actually like?”
