Kaylee had her head turned toward him. Saying something low.
And next to me, Travis stood up.
At first I thought he was just standing because everybody else was standing.
But he wasn’t clapping.
His hands were down at his sides. He was looking at the bleacher steps at the end of our row.
His jaw was working. Side to side.
I’ve seen him do that exactly twice in nine years. Once when he asked me to marry him. Once at his mother’s funeral.
He put his hand on the metal rail.
And he took the first step down.
Mr. Halvorson was still reading.
“After graduation, Kaylee plans to attend Minnesota State University in Mankato, to study nursing…”
Travis took the next step. And the next.
There are four steps from the front row of our bleachers down to the gym floor.
I counted every one of them. Because I couldn’t breathe.
