He turned to Jamie.
“Where did you learn infant first aid?”
S-O-_-H-I-E.
“My class.”
I stared at him.
“Your class?”
“Tuesday and Thursday. Infant CPR.” He rubbed his neck. “That’s why I got the doll. I practice on it.”
It all clicked at once. The bag. The it’s a surprise.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“That’s why I got the doll. I practice on it.”
“I didn’t want anyone to laugh.” He looked at Claire and added. “You said I’m not safe.”
She opened her mouth. Nothing came out.
“So I learned to be safe.”
He swallowed.
“I thought maybe then you let me hold Sophie.”
Claire’s face crumpled.
“So I learned to be safe.”
“You told me,” she whispered, looking at me. “You told me about the beads, and I…”
She couldn’t finish.
For years, she’d seen my brother as one terrible accident.
