Forty-five minutes later, João and I each sat on a swing at the park while Ana climbed up ladders and slid down slides, giggling with the other kids and having a good time. I pumped my legs back and forth slowly, gliding in the air, while João sat there.
“I heard what happened,” I said to João, not making eye contact with him.
João looked over at me briefly, trying to keep a blank face. But then he frowned, and I caught his bottom lip trembling. He quickly glanced away and back at Ana, who didn’t have a clue about what her mother did for a living or how it was tearing João apart.
She stood on the tallest part of the playground and waved to us. “João! Imani!”
I waved back enthusiastically while João gave her a curt nod.
“You don’t have to talk to me about it,” I said, slowing down on t
