“Good morning, Karen!” I say to my boss, as cheerful and happy as I could fake it.

“Mmm. Morning.” she replies without taking her eyes off of her laptop.

“Did you bring your son today?”

“As a matter of fact I did.. why?”

“Welll.. you know that Alex kid I talked about..” and I explained everything I hadn’t told her over the phone for extra days off.

“Ohmygosh! Alex can play with Danny any time – Danny! Come here for a second please!”

“Alex is a little sh-”

“Danny, this is Alex. Alex, Danny. Why don’t you show him your office?” Playroom. she mouthed to me.

“Okay Mommy.” he said, and waved for Alex to follow him.

He was a little hesitant. He looked over his shoulder at me, and I waved him foward. After my reassurance, he chased after Danny, who started a game of Tag.

“Thats Alex?”

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t buy him any playing clothes ye-”

“Oh, it’s quite alright. Danny’s probably ecstatic that he’s found a friend. This will be his first friend too.”