So far, I hadn’t come across anyone else besides Nina who even put forth the amount of effort Beau did in practicing sign language. Those two were really the only reason I sometimes actually looked forward to school.

YOU OK? Mom signed to me, catching me before I could head upstairs to my room.

YES, I told her. Even though five minutes ago it felt like the last thing in the world I wanted to be doing, I felt myself beginning to smile.

Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Two weeks after the failed coffee shop meeting, Connor sat cross-legged on Mom’s bed, carefully folding one of Mom’s sweaters while Saturday morning cartoons played, and Mom ran around the bedroom like a chicken with its head cut off. She’d announced at dinner the night before that her company was sending her on a weekend trip to Aspen—a town about two hours from Denver. I thought the timing was perfect. Mom needed some time to relax, and even though Thanksgiving was only a few days away, I knew this would be her real vacation.

YOU SURE YOU FINE WITH CONNOR? Mom signed to me one handed, walking out of the bathroom with some toiletries.

This was probably the nineteenth time she’d asked me.

FINE, PROMISE, I signed yet again, the same response I’d given her each time she asked.

I didn’t think Mom was this frantic because she didn’t trust me to watch Connor. It was just that she was worried about the breathing treatments he needed regularly and that she wouldn’t be here for two days to sit by Connor’s side while he went through them.

She seemed to have already forgotten she spent plenty of time coaching me through each step of prepping Connor’s nebulizer, how to replace his oxygen tank, what to do if he started having difficulties breathing or started coughing so hard he coughed up blood. I knew this routine of Mom’s inside and out.

HEY. FINE, I signed again, catching Mom’s hands while she fumbled zipping up her duffel bag. PROMISE.

Mom pulled me in for a tight hug, resting her chin on top of my head.

OK, she signed with a wobbly smile when she finally released me.

Connor and I helped Mom cart her things downstairs to the rental car her company arranged for her. We needed the van at home in case anything happened.

SEE YOU LATER, Mom signed to me after she finished hugging Connor and peppering his face with kisses. CAR KEYS IN KITCHEN. TEXT ME IF YOU NEED SOMETHING.

ALWAYS, I assured her.

Connor and I stood on the front steps and waved Mom off, waiting until she disappeared down the street before heading back inside.

“What would you like to do today, squirt?” I asked Connor as I shut the front door.