Mom and I didn't talk much the whole walk home, and when we got to the front stoop, I automatically looked in the front bay window, because I forgot for a second that Daisy wasn't going to be there like always, perched on the sofa with her front paws on the windowsill, waiting for us to come home. It made me kind of sad when we walked inside. As soon as we did, Mom dropped my duffel bag and wrapped her arms around me and kissed me on my head and on my face like she was breathing me in.

"Starving. Can I have a grilled cheese?"

"I know you are," she said. "I missed you so much, Auggie."

I could tell she wanted to say a lot of things but she was stopping herself.

"It's okay, Mom, I'm fine," I said, smiling.

"I missed you, too."

"Are you hungry?" she asked.

She nodded and took my face in her hands. Her eyes were shiny.

"Of course," she answered, and immediately started to make the sandwich while I took my jacket off and sat down at the kitchen counter.

"Where's Via?" I asked.

"She's coming home with Dad today. Boy, did she miss you, Auggie," Mom said.

"So, do you want to hear about the bad part or the good part first?" I asked after a few minutes, leaning my head on my hand.

I kind of laughed at the way she said the word "thugs."

"You'll have to tell her that."

"Whatever you want to talk about," she answered.

"Well, except for last night, I had an awesome time," I said. "I mean, it was just awesome. That's why I'm so bummed. I feel like they ruined the whole trip for me."

"I know." I nodded. "Did Mr. Tushman tell you about the hearing aids?"

"Oh my gosh, of course not, Auggie. He just wanted to know that you were all right. That's all that matters to us. And that you don't let those… thugs… ruin your trip."

"No, sweetie, don't let them do that to you. You were there for more than forty-eight hours, and that awful part lasted one hour. Don't let them take that away from you, okay?"

"Yes, he called us this morning."

"Yeah? She would have liked the nature reserve. You know what movie they played? The Sound of Music."

"Was Dad mad? Because they're so expensive?"

"They were pretty big, Mom." I smiled. "Seventh graders, I think."

"Okay, jerks. Morons. Imbeciles," she said, flipping over the sandwich in the pan. "Cretinos, as my mother would have said. Whatever you want to call them, if I saw them on the street, I would…" She shook her head.

"Thugs," I teased her. "That's kind of an old-fashioned word."

"Did he tell you how Jack stood up for me?" I said. "And Amos was like, bam, he rammed right into the leader. They both crashed to the ground, like in a real fight! It was pretty awesome. Amos's lip was bleeding and everything."

She shook her head. "Seventh graders? Mr. Tushman didn't tell us that. Oh my goodness."

"What?" she asked.

"He told us there was a fight, but…," she said, looking at me with her eyebrows raised. "I'm just… phew… I'm just so grateful you and Amos and Jack are fine. When I think about what could have happened…," she trailed off, flipping the grilled cheese again.

"Well, that can be replaced," she answered. She lifted the grilled cheese onto a plate and put the plate in front of me on the counter. "Milk or white grape juice?"

"My Montauk hoodie got totally shredded."

"Chocolate milk, please?" I started devouring the sandwich. "Oh, can you do it that special way you make it, with the froth?"

"And then what happened?" she said, putting the glass in front of me.

I took a long drink of the chocolate milk. "Is it okay if we don't talk about it anymore right now?"

"How did you and Jack end up at the edge of the woods in the first place?" she said, pouring the milk into a tall glass.

"Jack had to go to the bathroom," I answered, my mouth full. As I was talking, she spooned in the chocolate powder and started rolling a small whisk between her palms really fast. "But there was a huge line and he didn't want to wait. So we went toward the woods to pee." She looked up at me while she was whisking. I know she was thinking we shouldn't have done that. The chocolate milk in the glass now had a two-inch froth on top. "That looks good, Mom. Thanks."

"Oh. Okay."

"I promise I'll tell you all about it later, when Dad and Via come home. I'll tell you all every detail. I just don't want to have to tell the whole story over and over, you know?"

"Wow, you practically inhaled that sandwich. Do you want another one?" she said.

I shook my head and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

I finished my sandwich in two more bites and gulped down the chocolate milk.

"There are always going to be jerks in the world, Auggie," she said, looking at me. "But I really believe, and Daddy really believes, that there are more good people on this earth than bad people, and the good people watch out for each other and take care of each other. Just like Jack was there for you. And Amos. And those other kids."

"Absolutely."

"Mom? Am I always going to have to worry about jerks like that?" I asked. "Like when I grow up, is it always going to be like this?"

She didn't answer right away, but took my plate and glass and put them in the sink and rinsed them with water.

"Oh yeah, Miles and Henry," I answered. "They were awesome, too. It's weird because Miles and Henry haven't even really been very nice to me at all during the year."

"Sometimes people surprise us," she said, rubbing the top of my head.

"I guess."

"Want another glass of chocolate milk?"

"You got my note?"

"That was Daddy," she said excitedly. "He and Via are just down the block."

"No, I'm good," I said. "Thanks, Mom. Actually, I'm kind of tired. I didn't sleep too good last night."

She smiled. "I slept with him both nights." She was about to say something else when her cell phone rang, and she answered. She started beaming as she listened. "Oh my goodness, really? What kind?" she said excitedly. "Yep, he's right here. He was about to take a nap. Want to say hi? Oh, okay, see you in two minutes." She clicked it off.

"He's not at work?" I said.

"You should take a nap. Thanks for leaving me Baboo, by the way."

Five seconds later Dad and Via came through the door. I ran into Dad's arms, and he picked me up and spun me around and kissed me. He didn't let me go for a full minute, until I said, "Dad, it's okay." And then it was Via's turn, and she kissed me all over like she used to do when I was little.

"He left early because he couldn't wait to see you," she said. "So don't take a nap quite yet."

"What is that?" I said.

It wasn't until she stopped that I noticed the big white cardboard box they had brought in with them.

"Come on, Auggie!" said Via.

"Open it," said Dad, smiling, and he and Mom looked at each other like they knew a secret.

I opened the box. Inside was the cutest little puppy I've ever seen in my life. It was black and furry, with a pointy little snout and bright black eyes and small ears that flopped down.