“So he gets to live in his little bubble, all happy and oblivious, repeating Jeremy’s dumb rules for luck, while the rest of us have to deal with reality?”

“He’s not in a bubble,” said my mom. “In fact, I think he’s right on track. He’s adjusting in his own way and at his own pace.”

“I can’t stand it,” said my sister.

“We’ve discussed this, Kate,” said my mom. “Each of us is allowed to deal with this in our own way.”

Here’s the thing: Kate keeps shoving her phone in my face to show me articles about my dad and what happened with Missy Stephenson and some other women who overreact to people being in their personal space. I never read them and try not to see the headlines. You can’t trust what the media says, and I think my dad was right when he said those women were blowing everything out of proportion. I don’t want a whole bunch of negative stuff stuck in my head. That makes it easier to follow Rule #3: Never Show an Unlucky Hand, which is what you’re doing if you get all upset about stuff. If we all keep looking for the upside (Rule #2), we’ll be back in Vegas, and Mom can get back to her barre and Pilates classes and having lunch with her friends, and my sister can get back to her art school and hanging out with her angry and depressed friends, and I can get back to having a good life and to you guys.

That reminds me, who is your partner for the science fair? I bet you picked Monty. Good choice. But you guys will still get beaten by Emily and Trelawny. They have no sense of perspective about competition.

But back to the dinner situation. I got all the peas except one on my fork, which isn’t easy. I am pretty good. It’s like we understand each other, me and peas.

I ate them and they were delicious.

“Can I be excused?” I said.

“Of course, honey,” said my mother. I looked at her then and she smiled. My mom has the best smile, even when she’s tired.

I hope she gets to start smiling again soon.

Anyway, I probably won’t see you on Saturday. Mom says we’re just going to the treatment center and then home. But maybe I’ll send you a text or something.

Rodney