into a strange, relieved kind of laughter that none of us had expected but all of us needed.
Marcus finally spoke, the papers still shaking slightly in his hands.
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Since the week after you helped me with that chemistry project,” I said. “The one with the volcano that actually worked, for once. I realized I couldn’t remember the last time I’d called anyone else Dad and meant it.”
I told him about the afternoon I’d walked into Ms. Alvarado’s office, a small storefront practice two blocks from school, nervous enough that I’d walked past the door twice before actually going in.
“I need to ask about something,” I’d told her, standing awkwardly in her small waiting room. “I don’t even know if it’s a real thing you can ask for.”
She’d smiled, the kind of smile that told me she’d heard stranger requests
