“Oh well,” Mom chuckled. “We found a good deal.”
Then my nephew unwrapped a pair of Nike sneakers, then another iPad for the second niece.
Tyler got noise-cancelling headphones.
Even his girlfriend, who’d been dating him for 3 months, got a gift card to Sephora.
I just sat there smiling politely, waiting.
Maybe they saved ours for later. Maybe the big ones were for the kids and smaller ones for adults.
It didn’t really matter. I just didn’t want Lucas to feel left out.
When it was finally his turn, Mom handed him a small plastic bag, not even wrapped.
Inside was a toy police car, the kind that costs maybe $2 at a dollar store.
The wheels were already loose.
Lucas looked up at me with this uncertain smile, like he didn’t want to seem ungrateful.
“Cool,” he said softly.
I felt something twist in my chest.
