Chapter 11
Tyler apologized to Noah.
I did not force it.
Rowan did not either.
He asked.
They sat at a small table in the breakfast room.
Tyler looked miserable.
“I’m sorry I put you in the dryer.”
Noah stared at him.
“You closed door.”
“Yes.”
“You knew Grandma press button?”
Tyler started crying.
“Yes.”
Noah looked toward me.
Not for permission to forgive.
For safety.
I nodded once.
He turned back.
“That was bad.”
“Yes.”
Then Tyler said:
“Grandpa said if I didn’t do it, I was weak too.”
There.
Noah frowned.
“You scared?”
Tyler nodded.
“Yeah.”
Noah thought about it.
Then:
“I scared too.”
That was all.
No grand reconciliation.
No instant hug.
But the competition died in that sentence.
May you like
Both children had been frightened.
Only one had been rewarded for pretending otherwise.
