"Of course."
"This is the one from when you quit."
Ryan sat beside her. "Yes."
Sophie traced the blue marker. "Were you scared?"
He thought about lying in the parental way, turning the story into certainty after the fact.
"Very."
"You did not look scared when you told me."
"Adults can be scared and still know what they need to do."
Sophie nodded. "Like when Mom was sick."
Ryan's chest tightened.
"Yes. Like that."
She looked at the star again. "Can we put it on the refrigerator?"
"Why?"
"Because it should not stay in a box."
Ryan handed her a magnet.
The star went onto the refrigerator between a school photograph and a dentist appointment card.
Claire saw it the next time she came over.
She stopped in the kitchen doorway.
Ryan followed her gaze. "Sophie found it."
Claire stepped closer but did not touch the paper. "I remember it on the table."
"So do I."
"I hated that star for a while."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"Not Sophie. The star. It reminded me that an eight-year-old had a clearer understanding of commitment than I did."
Ryan stood beside her. "It reminded me I was about to be unemployed."
Claire glanced at him. "That too."
Sophie entered carrying construction paper. "I need scissors."
She saw both adults looking at the old star.
"I am making new ones," she announced.
"How many?" Ryan asked.
"I do not know yet."