I had no answer for that. But I knew it wasn’t fair.
Then I saw a shadow on the floor.
Jamie stood in the kitchen doorway with his coat on. I don’t know how long he’d been there.
He didn’t say a word.
“You’re judging him for one accident from years ago.”
He stepped back into the hall and knocked twice on the frame.
I knocked back. Claire didn’t.
The front door clicked shut.
***
Sophie’s first family photo shoot was that month. Jamie showed up in a blue shirt. It was the last one Mom ever bought him. We took the first pictures all together. Then Claire turned to the photographer.
“Can we get one with just the immediate family?”
Jamie blinked.
We took the first pictures all together.
“I am immediate family.”
Claire sighed.
“Jamie, please. I just want one normal picture.”
Jamie didn’t argue. He stepped out of the frame and stood by the wall.
