A Window Full of Friends

Eva knocks on the bakery door. Tom comes from the kitchen. “The shop is closed, but I’m cleaning the kitchen,” he says. Eva shows him Lily’s picture of his bakery. Then they tell him about the show.

Tom looks at the big window. “There is room here. We can put the pictures inside. Come back tomorrow at nine. We open at ten,” he says. Lily calls Noah from Tom’s phone. Eva goes to the library to tell Anna.

On Sunday at nine, Noah brings paper and string. Anna writes a small sign: “Pictures by Lily. Look in the window!” Tom puts his bread on another shelf. Eva and Lily put up the drawings together.

At ten, people stop outside. Noah points at the green bicycle in one picture. Tom looks at the drawing of his bakery and smiles. Eva stands beside Lily. She looks at the people around her. She knows their names now.

Lily opens her red notebook at a new page. She draws two friends under one umbrella. “That is us,” Eva says. Lily smiles. “Coffee?” she asks. “Yes, please,” Eva says. This time, Eva does not sit alone.