Unspoken Pain

“Mr. Vance!” Autumn interrupted our conversation.

He carried her into the car. “What would you like to eat?”

“Ice-cream and a family bucket!” the munchkin blurted at once.

Tristan took a peek at me and said under his breath, “You might want to check with your mommy first.”

Knowing what my answer would be, the sulky smart girl tried her luck by rephrasing her request, “Mommy, what do you want to ea