He looked at Dale.
“Mr. Heckert?”
Dale turned.
“Hello, Noah.”
Noah noticed the can of money.
“Is that for the kids who need lunch?”
Dale nodded.
“Yes. For the whole school.”
My son considered that.
Then he asked, “Did you ever get the cheese sandwich when you were little?”
Dale looked startled.
Finally, he nodded.
“Yes. For three years.”
Noah was quiet.
“Did kids make fun of you?”
“Yes.”
“Did anybody tell them to stop?”
Dale shook his head.
“No.”
My son reached into his pocket.
He pulled out a single shiny penny.
He’d secretly kept it after we finished rolling the others.
He held it toward Dale.
“This was one of your pennies,” Noah said. “We cleaned it.”
Dale looked confused.
“Why are you giving it back to me?”
“Because you apologized to my mom.” Birthdayparty planning
Noah paused.
“And because nobody helped you when those kids were mean.”
