Then he opened his closet.
Hanging from the handle in a clear garment bag was the red dress.
For several seconds, I just stared.
“You bought it?”
Noah smiled.
“I got the last one.”
The shop was just down the street, and he’d bought it himself.
“Buddy, you stopped eating lunch for this?”
“I got the last one.”
“Not every day, Mom.”
“That’s not the point.”
“But Lucy’s birthday is tomorrow.”
I sat beside him.
“Listen to me, baby. Wanting to give Lucy something beautiful is wonderful.”
He brightened.
“But hiding that you’re hungry is not.”
His face fell again.
“I needed the money, Mom.”
“Wanting to give Lucy something beautiful is wonderful.”
“Then you ask us.”
“You might’ve said no.”
“Then you ask if you can earn it.”
“I did rake leaves.”
“I know.”
“Mrs. Reynolds pays terrible.”
I laughed despite myself.
Then I pulled him against me.
“You never skip food to prove you care about somebody. Okay?”
“You might’ve said no.”
He sighed into my shoulder.
“Okay.”
***
That evening, my mother-in-law stopped by.
She happened to be in the kitchen when Noah came downstairs carrying the garment bag.
“Look what I got Lucy.”
My MIL smiled at first.
Then I explained how he’d paid for it.
“Look what I got Lucy.”
Her gaze turned to flint.
“You skipped lunches for THAT?”
Noah nodded.
She laughed.
Then she looked at the dress again.
“Sweetheart, that’s a waste of money.”
Noah stopped smiling.
I said, “Excuse me?”
“Sweetheart, that’s a waste of money.”
She shrugged.
“Lucy is two. And with everything going on with her, she probably doesn’t even understand what a birthday is.”
