was Laya.
She sat in a chair behind the counter, knees pulled to her chest, holding a stuffed dinosaur someone must have given her. Her face was swollen from crying. A woman in a red vest sat beside her, one hand resting near but not touching, careful and kind.
“Laya!”
My daughter’s head jerked up.
“Mommy!”
She ran to me so hard the impact knocked the air continue reading …
