Jaylen’s eyes moved to the ground.
“I just know engines.”
“No,” Wendell said quietly. “You know systems.”
The word seemed to catch Jaylen’s attention.
Wendell noticed that.
“Engines are systems. Companies are systems. Power grids are systems. People, too, sometimes.” He paused, remembering the boy’s words. “Most broken things are one bad connection away from working again, right?”
Jaylen looked at him then, really looked at him.
For a second, the dirt road disappeared between them. The expensive watch on Wendell’s wrist, the dust on Jaylen’s slides, the SUV, the grocery bag, all of it became background noise.
Then Jaylen reached down and picked up the bag.
“I need to get home,” he said.
Wendell nodded, as if he had expected that answer.
“Let me drive you.”
Jaylen’s shoulders tightened.
“It’s not far.”
“It’s hot enough to cook breakfast on the hood of this car.”
