Morning at the Vasquez home.
The frying pan sizzled, and the scent of butter mingled with the scorched smell of toast throughout the kitchen.
Mary thumped a bottle of milk onto the table, then turned to hunt for her college application forms. Eugene wore headphones, shoveling cereal into his mouth while his fingers clattered across the keyboard.
Billy pulled out a chair and sat down.
He did not pull his cap down as low as it would go, as he usually did, nor did he rush to finish his food and escape to his room.
He looked at Darla across the table.
The little girl's lips were pursed, her eyes red. She clutched a stuffed giraffe whose neck had torn apart in the middle, exposing its white stuffing.
"Pedro didn't mean to." Darla sniffled. "But he stepped on it too hard."
Beside her, Pedro flushed bright red and kept his head down, afraid to speak.
Billy set down his fork.
He reached over and took the giraffe from Darla. Then he rummaged through a nearby drawer for a roll of medical tape and a pair of scissors.
He did not use any divine power.
He simply bent his head, his fingers steady as he lined up the torn fabric, cut off a strip of tape, and wrapped it tightly around the neck, over and over. Then he gave it a firm squeeze to make sure it would not fall off again.
"It's got a neck brace." Billy handed the giraffe back. "It's the armored version now."
Darla froze for a moment.
Then she smiled through her tears, hugged the giraffe, and lunged forward to wrap her arms around Billy's neck.
"Thank you, Billy!"
Billy stiffened for a moment.
He did not push her away.
He raised a hand and gently