"Then yeah," she says. "I'm bringing it."
She looks happy. Lighter.
Henry thunders down the stairs, dressed and ready. His hair is still damp from the shower. He's vibrating with barely contained energy.
"Are we leaving now?" he asks.
"Almost," I say. "Five minutes."
"Four," Lindsay corrects, checking her phone. "Traffic's building."
Henry grins and bolts back upstairs—probably to check his backpack for the third time.
I finish my coffee in silence. Lindsay leans against the counter beside me, close enough that our shoulders almost touch.
"You nervous?" she asks.
"No."
She raises an eyebrow.
I amend. "Not about Henry. He's prepared."
"Then what?"
I consider the question. There's no simple answer, so I offer the truth instead.
"I'm not used to this."
"Sharing the load?"
"Trusting it'll hold."
She bumps my shoulder gently. "Don't worry. I got you."
***
The school parking lot is crowded. Families stream toward the entrance. Laughter, chatter, the occasional shout.
Security is present but unobtrusive. Two figures positioned near the perimeter, far enough back to avoid attention.
Lindsay walks beside me easily, her ridiculous bag catching stray glances. Henry bounces ahead, then circles back, then surges forward again like a satellite in erratic orbit.
Inside, the hallway smells like poster paint and cafeteria food. Fluorescent lights hum overhead. Display boards line the walls, each one covered in student work.
Henry's teacher approaches us near the entrance to the gymnasium.
"Mr. Dupree," she says, extending her hand. "Mrs. Dupree. Good to see you both."
She gestures toward the gym. "Henry's project is near the back. He's been very excited to share it."
The gymnasium is transformed. Tables arranged in rows, each one displaying a different project. Parents cluster around their children, phones raised, voices overlapping.
Henry's table is near the far wall. He's already there, adjusting his poster board with the kind of focus I recognize in myself.
The project is a scaled model of a sustainable housing development. Miniature buildings constructed from recycled materials. Solar panels made from painted cardboard. Tiny trees fashioned from wire and tissue paper.
He's labeled everything. Included a budget breakdown.
