my surprise, Veronica laughed.
Then Mom laughed too.
It did not fix everything.
But it let air back into the room.
That evening, my parents returned to their bedroom.
I helped Dad carry his books in.
Derek moved the narrow beds out of the storage room.
When he carried the second one past me, we nearly collided in the doorway.
“Remember when you broke my nose with the basketball?”
he asked.
“You walked into my elbow.”
“You threw the elbow backward.”
“I was demonstrating defensive positioning.”
“You were twelve.”
“You
