Chapter 33
POV: Damian
There are problems money can solve.
Then there are problems people hide because they're too proud to ask for help.
Mrs. Jenkins belonged to the second group.
I noticed it when she quietly returned a carton of eggs to the grocery shelf.
She checked the price twice.
Smiled at the cashier as though nothing was wrong.
Then bought only a loaf of bread and a can of soup.
She never saw me standing in the next aisle.
On the walk back to Brookside, she chatted cheerfully.
"My tomato plant finally has flowers."
"That's great," I replied.
"I'll bring everyone tomatoes when they grow."
She spoke as if everything was perfectly fine.
It wasn't.
That evening, I knocked on Walter's door.
He answered while trying to untangle Christmas lights.
It wasn't Christmas.
"
