Chapter 26 - Another Box
Niles turned eleven.
Space-themed birthday.
At gift time, Eugenia attended.
First birthday she had been invited to since five.
Not because pressure.
Niles chose.
She arrived with no large boxes.
That was deliberate.
One small envelope.
He looked at it.
Then at her.
“What?”
“Gift card for science museum.”
He opened.
Normal.
Then another relative brought an enormous wrapped box.
Niles froze.
Everyone saw.
The relative didn’t understand.
I moved beside him.
“Want me to open?”
He looked at box.
Then Eugenia.
Her face changed.
She did not approach.
Did not apologize publicly.
Did not turn it into herself.
She simply stepped farther away.
Good.
Niles tore wrapping.
Inside:
A telescope.
He stared.
Then laughed.
“YES!”
The room breathed again.
Later Eugenia found me near kitchen.
“I should have left when I saw the box.”
“No.”
“I made him tense.”
“The memory did.”
She nodded.
Then:
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize every time he remembers.”
She looked surprised.
“What do I do?”
“Let him remember.”
That was harder.
She accepted.
Then Niles called:
“Grandma!”
She turned.
“Look.”
He had assembled one telescope leg backward.
Eugenia almost corrected.
Stopped.
“Looks complicated.”
Niles groaned.
“Help?”
She looked at me.
I nodded once.
She helped.
May you like
Not because authority restored.
Because he asked.
