The girl trails behind Daddy,
Trying to help carry the boxes that are too heavy for her,
And too often getting in the way of the men moving furniture.
But they are nice to her,
And don’t discourage her.
Sister does.
Sister is over there talking to the neighbor girls.
They are all instant friends.
Luckily they all leave her alone—Sister doesn’t.
“Why bother? The men can do it.
Maybe you should be a man too!”
The girls laugh.
She doesn’t.
The girl picks up another box,
Not letting her face fall until they couldn’t see her.
Walks to her room and sits down.

Only then does she let each tear fall.

Before long she is done,
The rest of the pain bottled up somewhere that she can forget about.
Her hands still shaking,
Getting up one more time,
She checks her face in the mirror,
Making sure that her face isn’t too splotchy,
Not wanting to be questioned by anyone.
She walks back to the van, getting another load
To let Sister know that there is no winning today.
Only she will win.

Sister doesn’t notice.