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“Good,” I said. “Making progress.”

“I just finished Alex,” he said. “Want me to take over?”

“I want Emma to do it,” Sarah said quickly.

He put his hands up. “Okay.”

His hair was tousled. “No lice.” He pointed at it. “Leigh checked me.”

“Good. Did you check her?”

He paused for a second. Then he disappeared back out the door. I smiled after him. Then I saw how big I was grinning in the mirror and had to make a conscious effort to make my face straight.

Sarah was watching me. “My brother really likes you, I think.”

The corner of my lip turned up again. “Oh yeah?”

She nodded. “Yeah. He, like, never talks about girls and he talks about you all the time.”

“What does he say?”

“Emma this and Emma that. Blah blah blah.”

I laughed.

“Do you like him?” she asked.

“Yeah, of course I do.”

“Why?”

“He’s funny, for one. He’s smart. And handsome—”

“Gross,” she said.

“He is. Sorry, it’s just true.”

She wrinkled her nose.

“I also think he’s a really good person,” I continued. “I like that he’s taking care of you guys.”

She stared at me through the mirror. Then I nodded at the bag from Sally Beauty on the sink.

“I got you something you might like,” I said. “Grab that.”

She leaned over and picked it up. I watched her face change instantly the second she saw what it was. Her head shot up. “Hair dye?!” She beamed.

“Yup. I made Justin stop at the beauty supply store on the way over. I already asked your brother, he said it’s okay. When we’re done with this, you can pick a color.”

I’d bought the rainbow. Red, orange, green, blue, and purple.

“The time I got lice, one of the older girls staying in the foster home got me hair dye—stole me hair dye. I’m pretty sure she didn’t buy it,” I said. “Anyway, I just remembered it turning the whole day around for me. I was so upset and the instant I found out I got to have pink hair at school the next morning, it changed everything. Reframed the memory into something good.”

Sarah was practically bouncing. “I can’t believe he said yes. Mom never lets me do anything. She won’t even let me get my ears pierced.”

“Well, it’s a new regime,” I said, parting her hair again. “We could do two colors if you want. It’s semi-permanent, so it’ll only last a few weeks.”

“I want the purple and blue! Josie’s gonna be so jealous. Her mom let her get a henna tattoo and she was bragging about it for forever.”