“What the hell do you mean you can’t code? We’re building an app.” She starts to move toward him, and I wonder if she’s going to hit him. I wouldn’t blame her, honestly. “Don’t you think you should’ve mentioned that sooner?”

He shrugs. “You never asked.”

“Are you fu—” Sara stops herself, almost shaking as she closes her eyes and breathes deeply. She continues more quietly but through gritted teeth. “Just leave.”

“What?” He stands up quickly, and the remote clatters to the floor.

“Just get out of my room. The grown-ups need to get some real work done.”

“Fine.” He picks up his bag roughly. “Like I need any more reason to waste my time here.” He storms out and the door slams so hard that it shakes the wall.

“Well then.” Sara plops down on the seat next to me. “Back to it, I guess.”

“I mean...” I check the time. “Is it really that bad if the text doesn’t line up on such an obscure part of the settings page?”

“Yes.” She seems shocked I would even ask.

“The odds that Professor Thomas will trigger it when testing it out...”

“It doesn’t matter.” She draws the computer closer to her. “It has to be perfect just because...” She shakes her head. “Because when I put my name on something, I want to know I did all I could to get it as perfect as possible.”

I exhale loudly, but she just keeps typing.

“It’s fine the way it is,” I say.

“No, it’s not.” A little crease appears at the top of her nose as she studies the screen. “Wait!” Her eyes go wide. She clicks one button, testing the code, I assume. “Yes! Oh my, that’s it.” She hops out of her seat, the biggest smile on her face. She sorts of jumps up and down, giggling, she is so giddy.

I lean over to see the screen and the perfectly lined-up sample text, and I can’t help but smile as well.

That’s the weird thing about someone who is so overzealous about things that seem unimportant. Yes, a lot of times you find yourself shaking your head at how seriously they take the stupid shit. Annoyed at how on your ass they are about using a coaster even when your cup is foam, or scheduling when you will meet to pick the perfect font for your project.

But then you find yourself getting excited along with them when things go right, when they align perfectly. It makes you more passionate. You start rooting for the little details, because you know it makes their heart soar, and the dumb stuff starts to make you happy too.

The next day, Sara lets Braden come back to work, if you can call it that, but forbids him from watching TV.

He starts texting instead.