Chapter 10
One year after the hospital envelope appeared on our coffee table, Jayden put another envelope in front of Denise.
We were in the same living room. The cream sofa had a new throw blanket Camille had made. The kitchen island was crowded with dinner plates. Warm light fell across all three of us.
Jayden was smiling too hard to keep the surprise.
“Open it, Mom.”
She looked at me.
“I don’t know what it is,” I said. “He wouldn’t tell me either.”
She opened the envelope and read the letter. Jayden had been accepted into the summer game design program. He had also received a grant to cover the cost.
“You got in!” she cried.
He nodded. “My essay helped.”
“The one you nearly deleted six times?”
“Seven.”
She stood and hugged him. He was taller than she was now, but he bent to hold her tightly.
“I’m proud of you,” she whispered.
He looked at me over her shoulder. For a moment, I saw the boy who had stood in this room clutching a phone, frightened by news he could not understand. Then he grinned and told us about the projects he hoped to make.
Denise had a follow-up appointment the next morning. She no longer hid the date from the calendar, and Jayden no longer stared at it as though it might decide everything about our lives. We planned breakfast afterward.
The doctor was pleased with how Denise was doing. She would continue the care and checks recommended for her. We came home with clear notes and questions for the next visit.
Jayden had already set the table. Camille was there with fresh fruit and enough pastries for six people.
“How did it go?” he asked.
Denise told him. He listened, then passed her a plate.
“Good. Eat before Aunt Camille claims the last one.”
“I brought them,” Camille said. “I have first choice.”
They argued over a pastry while I poured coffee.
Denise’s work project had finished successfully the month before. She had chosen another nearby assignment, one that challenged her without taking her away from the care she still needed. The company’s correction of her earlier treatment was complete, and she no longer had to fight each week for the job she had earned.
At home, we had changed too. Jayden did his part without waiting for a reminder. When he forgot, we said so. He apologized, fixed it, and kept going. Denise and I asked for help before either of us reached the point of exhaustion.
None of us got every day right. We kept talking.
That evening, Jayden asked if Aaliyah could come over to celebrate his program acceptance. She arrived with a sketch of a game character they had designed together. Denise asked them how it worked, and they spent half an hour explaining rules I still did not understand.
I stayed in the kitchen to finish dinner. Jayden came in and reached for a towel.
“Need help, Dad?”
“Set the table.”
He did. Then he carried the salad out and returned for the water glasses.
After Aaliyah went home, Denise found him at the sink. She stood beside him and picked up a clean towel.
“I can finish,” he said.
“I know. I want to help.”
They worked quietly for a while. I leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching them pass plates from one pair of hands to the other.
Jayden glanced at me.
“You’re supposed to be putting leftovers away.”
“I’m going.”
“You heard him,” Denise said.
I opened the containers. They both laughed at how carefully I measured the portions, knowing I always made one too small for Jayden.
Later, we sat on the sofa together. Jayden showed us the calendar for his program. Denise marked the first day and asked whether he wanted us there for the final presentation.
“Both of you,” he said. “Aunt Camille too, if she wants.”
“She’ll bring enough pastries for everyone,” I said.
Denise rested her head on my shoulder. Jayden sat on her other side, his phone face down on the table.
He reached for her hand.
“I was scared that night,” he said. “I’m still scared sometimes.”
“So am I,” Denise answered.
“But I know we can talk about it now.”
“Yes.”
He looked at her.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too.”
I took her other hand. She held us both while the kitchen light glowed behind us and Jayden talked about the game he wanted to build: a story where the people on the same team learned to listen before they tried to win.
Denise smiled.
May you like
“I’d like to play that,” she said.
Jayden promised she would be the first person he showed. He picked up his phone to write down her name at the top of his testing list, then set it aside and stayed with us.
