“Uncle Russell, why doesn’t Joey have hair?” Cody was peering intently into the tank at Joey. The fish was almost frantic in his movements. He expected flakes to arrive at any second. Russell came over, showed Cody how to take a pinch of flakes from the tin, and spread them on the water. Cody laughed when Joey almost jumped out of the water to get some.
“He spends all his time underwater. You know what wet hair feels like. So fish decided they would have beautiful scales instead. It makes it easier to swim and still look pretty.” He could see the gears turning in Cody’s head as the boy tried to imagine what Joey would look like with hair. Russell smiled to himself. Somehow, someday, the child would feel safe and comfortable. It had to be hard for Cody, knowing his mother was probably not
