It was one of the quietest meals Mee-Kyong could remember having at the Sterns’. Benjamin kept his face to his plate and was so bent over he looked like he was impersonating a boulder. Mr. Stern munched one bacon strip after another, while Mrs. Stern poked her plate with her fork. She would look around every now and then to steal a glance at Benjamin, her eyes full of questions and compassion, and open her mouth only to fill it with another small bite of eggs.
“Well.” Mrs. Stern punctuated the word as if it were a sentence in and of itself. “I guess we’ve had enough pancakes. I’ll go see if the rolls are ready.”
While she was out, Mee-Kyong glanced over at Benjamin. Their late-night conversation in the den was by far the longest they had shared together, but if that meant anything to him
