"That sounds great, Anjanette," Uncle Bruce replied, when Anjanette told him about Tammy and her parents' pet rescue centre. "We'll go over on Saturday and look at the puppies."
"Thanks, Uncle Bruce." Anjanette smiled broadly at the thought of finding her Collie. Her first pet....
"I'm glad you're talking to the other kids at your school a bit more, too," Bruce went on, as he began to open the キッチン cupboards to fix Anjanette an AFTERSCHOOL（アフタースクール） snack. "I know あなた were nervous around them at first."
Anjanette nodded slowly. "They are different here from how they were at my old school. And Tammy seems like a nice girl. But - Uncle Bruce, at lunch today, she asked me what happened to my parents, and I just started crying. Ferdinand had to explain that I wasn't ready to talk about it." She swallowed hard.
Bruce was thoughtful, pausing in front of the open cupboard with a jar of 落花生, ピーナッツ バター in his hand. "What did Tammy do?"
"She apologized for upsetting me," Anjanette remembered. "She didn't ask any もっと見る questions. And - she didn't make fun of me for crying." That was something. Anjanette wouldn't have dared to cry in front of her old schoolmates.
Uncle Bruce came over to Anjanette and put a steadying hand on her shoulder. "It sounds to me like あなた can trust her. Anjanette, I want あなた to feel 安全, 安全です enough to make new friends."
Anjanette gave a small smile. "Thanks, Uncle Bruce. I'm just... not sure I'm ready to tell anyone else about my parents yet."
"You don't have to," Bruce assured her. "Not before you're ready. Tammy knows you're not ready to talk about it, and I'm sure there are many other things あなた can connect over in the meantime."
Anjanette felt better. "Yes - she loves the Beatles, too. And we all 愛 animals...." Maybe her uncle was right, and she should let Tammy in. And then, once she got her Collie, she could find herself with two new friends.