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After four months, I continue to be astonished by what Emily can do with a dented, often label-less, can She says it’s all the Julia Child reruns on PBS, but I don’t care who’s to credit Dinner is on the table every night with mismatched plates and silverware, and our economy paper towels are always folded into decorative shapes It hasn’t escaped ether, either The bottom line for me is that she reed to move in with me - which was no s, then cracking the door and yelling, "Ethan?" before she would enter through the front door It was as if she thought I would get mad if she didn’t practice her self- i this her ho concerning our issues

Initially, she’d been particularly insistent about getting a job and wanting to help financially I hadn’t argued, thinking she was nearly done, if not completely finished, with school I hadn’t bother to ask what her status was, figuring she was old enough to erness that I helped her look for a job

One roadblock was her lack of identification Employers want an ID, but of course, Emily didn’t have any We spent an entire day at City Hall getting the required docuo to the DMV That was the day I found out she was barely old enough for a driver’s permit - let alone a driver’s license Ehteen e met, but I found out she wasn’t even close Shock didn’t even begin to explain what I felt at the revelation of her real age She hadn’t lied about when her birthday was; it was a month after shesixteen, not eighteen While I waswith the fear of being herded into a state syste fed to the wolves I couldn’t really blaer about her lie and the additional guilt of sos I may have fantasized about her, I realized Emily missed theabout her sister’s sixteenth birthday and the excite with the mo special andme, she’d already receivedThe celebratory sad-assed cookie I had on my twenty-first birthday cah for Eant and girly cake our bakery had - regardless of the fact it was alet Her reaction to the cake was like a kick to the sto that even her otten her a cake since cake wasn’t soet

That was thethat cake was so special made it all the more enjoyable when I ate it every o wash your hands please Dinner is ready"

It never fails The girl can literally watchI’ve just scrubbed up, but she will still tell ain, and I will I know that she’s tied to the routine, not really the cleanliness factor Many who have been in a ho to routines for the co

We sit and eat in silence for the first few minutes of the meal It’s always balanced, particularly since she’s taking a health class this se habits and exercise Soh because she sounds just like one of those infoht after she’s had a bad dreahtuilt around with her given our situation Emily feels like she should contribute to the household withan education Even though legally she could drop out, I’ that school is her job, and there will be plenty of time for her to contribute in the future when she’s a full-fledged taxpayer

"Hey, Ethan?" E her cube steak around on the plate I’m a bit nervous since she says it with hesitance She hardly asks for anything, and when she does, she makes it seem like she’s about to ask for ash, the acco look on her face indicates this isn’t si her roan, not because she’s brought it up, but because I participate in as little of the Holiday Cheer as possible It’s been awhile since I’ve celebrated the birth of Christ, mainly because I don’t believe in God Realistically, I see the holiday as an opportunity to earn extra money as I work all the shifts so everyone else can spend tie my anxiety about the topic but it doesn’t work The holidays are about coifts

"Yeah, I usually work Christet double time" My dinner still sits heavy in the pit of ive her a special day

"Oh"

Now I feel like a jerk who’s robbed her of the ic of Christmas "Like all day or just part?"

"The store is open fro early" I knohy she’s asking, but it doesn’t keepstupid "Why? What’s up?"

E her battered piece of and you don’t have toit’s just so thatI mean, you can, but if itby touching her hand My hope is that she will refocus her thoughts with esture

I’hter, squares her shoulders, and wipes her mouth with her paper towel-slash-napkin

"I want to spend Christmas at the shelter You knowit’s the last place I ith my mom"