The awkwardness that skirted them earlier moved in with more determination. Therese ignored it and ripped open the bag. “Want one?”

Leah nodded. She unwrapped the chocolate and then rolled the foil wrapper into a tiny silver ball. “Has your mother come by?”

“Not yet.” Therese took a chocolate out of the bag and warmed it in her hand.

Matilda had fallen asleep and was making little snorting sounds. Therese smiled and tried to catch Leah’s eye to see if she thought it was funny, too, but Leah was staring out the window. The late morning sky had turned from blue to a hazy gray, and Leah seemed lost in the clouds. Then, as if she found what it was she was searching for, she turned back to Therese. “Where’s Tim?”

“He went home to get a few things.” She felt cold and drew the blanket more tightly around herself.

“Where were you when it happened?”

“Have another.” Therese passed the bag to Leah, who shook her head no.

“Where were you?”

“It was so fast, I don’t remember,” Therese said.

“You don’t remember?” Leah’s eyes narrowed.

Immediately, she pictured Tim collapsed into the bag of rice, his rage filling the shed so completely that part of the window fogged. She wanted to confess it all, to rest her head against Leah’s shoulder and feel safe. She wanted to hear that it would all be okay, but she already knew what her response would be. A kernel of anger settled inside, and she tucked her legs beneath herself. “Sorry, but I don’t remember. Maybe if you ever have a baby, you’ll think to keep track of those kinds of things.” She watched as each of her words hit its mark, making Leah flinch and pull back into her chair.

A few seconds later, Leah moved in closer and took Therese’s hand. She hadn’t realized how cold she was until she felt Leah’s hand cupping hers, but the offer of forgiveness simply made Therese angrier. “I just want to make sure that everything is okay. For you. For Matilda,” Leah said as she lifted Therese’s hand to her lips and began to blow on them.

“I already told you there’s nothing to worry about. Everything is fine. This is the way things are supposed to be.” She pulled her hand away and used it to straighten the blanket. Leah looked down at the floor and moved her foot in a perfect circle, the silence between them broken up by the sound of the food cart moving along the hallway outside.

“What about Barbara?”