THE FIRST TIME
As Jed held the ice to his bruised cheek, Mrs. Landingham sat down beside him, cookie tin in hand.
"Talked to your father, I see."
"Yeah."
"Guess he disagreed with me."
"Yeah." He couldn't say which shamed him more, that he'd failed to argue the point or that it'd taken so long for him to try and do so.
She opened the tin. "Want one?"
He blinked. "You never let me have your cookies."
"First time for everything."
Jed didn't think she was talking about the cookies. Accepting her offer, he bit into the best chocolate-chip cookie he'd ever had.
FIN