“How did you get here?”
“He didn’t come alone.”
I looked from him to Larry.
“Does Melissa know?”
Tom rubbed the back of his neck.
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“She does now.”
Larry tugged my sleeve.
“Grandma, I brought something.”
“He didn’t come alone.”
“From where?”
“Your house.”
Tom looked down at him.
Apparently that part was new to him too.
Larry hugged the backpack tighter.
“I didn’t want Mom to get rid of it.”
Larry hugged the backpack tighter.
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My attention went straight to Tom.
“Get rid of what, sweetie?”
“I don’t know.”
Larry unzipped the bag.
He moved aside a math book, a pencil case, and a crushed packet of crackers.
Then he pulled out an old brass hinge.
“Get rid of what, sweetie?”
I knew it before he finished lifting it from the bag. My legs suddenly felt unreliable, and I grabbed the edge of the bed.
