The next day I cooked a lot of pasta, and my nerves tingled as I seasoned the meat. Lizie came back and hugged her bag. At dinner she ate everything and then carefully wiped her seat on the table.
Dan asked, “All right with you, Lizie?”
She nodded without looking at him.
On Friday she was already part of our everyday life – homework, dinner, farewell. She washed with Sam and hummed quietly to herself. One evening she fell asleep at the kitchen counter, then terrified and apologized three times.
Dan grabbed my arm. “Should we call someone?” She needs… help, right?
“And what shall I say?” I whispered. “That her father has problems and she is tired?” I don’t know where to start, Dan. Let’s just do what we can.
He sighed. “She looks exhausted.”
I nodded. I will talk to her. This time carefully.
Over the weekend I tried to learn more.
Sam shrugged his shoulders. She doesn’t talk about home. She just says her father works a lot. And sometimes the power goes out. She pretends everything is fine, but she is constantly hungry…and tired.
That Monday, Lizie looked even paler. When she got her homework out, her rucksack slipped off the chair and burst. Papers were scattered on the floor – crumpled bills, an envelope with coins and a shutdown message with the red imprint “last warning”.
A worn notebook stood out, the pages full of lists.
I knelt to help. “DREAM” stared at me in bold letters. Underneath, in clean handwriting: “What we take first when we are cleared.”
“Lizie…” My voice failed. “What is that?”
She froze, her lips tightly compressed, her fingers hooked in her hoodie.
Sam gasped for air. “Lizie, you didn’t say it was that bad!”
Dan came in. “What’s going on?” He saw the newspapers.
I held up the envelope. “Lizie, dear…will you and your father lose your home?”
She stared at the floor and clutched her bag. My father told me not to tell anyone. He said it was no one’s business.
“Honey, that’s not true,” I said gently. It is close to our hearts. But we cannot help if we do not know what is going on.
She shook her head, tears came to her eyes. He says people will look at us differently. As if we were begging.
Dan was sitting next to us. “Is there another place you can go?” An aunt or a friend?
She shook her head more violently. “We tried… but it wasn’t a place.”
Sam squeezed her hand. You don’t have to hide it. Together we will find a solution.
I nodded. You are not alone, Lizie. We are now in the middle of it.
She hesitated and looked at her jumped phone. “Should I call my father?” He will be angry.
“Let me talk to him,” I said. “We just want to help.”
She called. We waited. I cooked coffee, Dan cleaned the dishes away. I was sick.
The doorbell sounded. Lizie’s father entered, the exhaustion was clearly visible to him. Oil stains graced his jeans, dark circles were under his eyes, but he still tried to smile.
