“What happened?”
Lauren shook her head too quickly.
“Nothing.”
“Lauren.”
That one word.
Soft.
Steady.
Impossible to dodge.
Lauren sat on the edge of the armchair beside the couch.
“I got fired.”
Her mother didn’t gasp.
Didn’t panic.
She just looked at her for a long second and asked, “Why?”
Lauren let out a laugh that broke halfway through.
“Because I gave food to a hungry kid.”
Denise’s brow tightened.
“What?”
So Lauren told her.
From the nickel tapping the counter to the little girl hugging her with greasy fingers to Mr. Grady demanding the apron.
She told it straight through because if she stopped she might not finish.
When she was done, the room went quiet except for the television judge yelling at somebody over child support.
Denise reached for Lauren’s hand.
“You did the right thing.”
“That doesn’t fix rent.”
“No.”
“That doesn’t buy medicine either.”
