Unable to speak, autistic Claire fears she will never be hired. Then an autism organization offers her a chance to realize her dream: to publish her writing and share her voice with the world.
It's a dream come true, right? But Claire's father can'...
Claire taps her fingers against each other in a silent rhythm as she watches trees and buildings pass by. Her dad is driving her to the next Autism Rescue meeting today. He has been staring straight ahead the whole time, the lines on his brow deeper than usual. Claire thinks this means he isn't looking forward to it.
But Claire is still glowing from her date. She's going to see Glitter again, and listen to the adults she's writing for... It'll be great!
They park, walk through the spacious lobby, and go up up up in the shiny gold elevator. They enter the penthouse where some familiar-looking adults gathered in the big living room. Not everyone has arrived yet.
"Well... here we are," her dad says.
They're early. So Claire takes off for the kitchen, running sideways, fingers flicking, hair flying out behind her. A few of the adults frown at this, but she's not really paying attention.
Claire skids to a stop in the kitchen, right in front of Glitter. Glitter's face lights up when she sees Claire. Then she frowns and looks away.
"Claire... your dad likes you, right?" Glitter asks.
"Yes, very much," Claire types. "Why do you ask?"
"I wanna know... what I'm doing wrong." Glitter shuffles her feet. "Maybe, if I'm more like you, my dad will love me too."
Claire takes a deep breath. Wow. That's a big question. Claire... doesn't know what to think about this.
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[Drawing of Glitter, arms clutched at her chest, looking over her shoulder with the quote "Maybe, if I'm more like you, my dad will love me too." Glitter's nose is tinged red, like she has been crying.]
Claire takes a deep breath. Then she begins to type. "Glitter, my dad is different from your dad. Remember how your dad doesn't want you to bounce, but mine says it's okay? It's not that you are less lovable than me. It's that your dad has more rules. And he's stricter and grumpier. Dads like that can be hard to deal with, sometimes. Do you have any other family members?"
Glitter shakes her head. "No. My mom died when I was a baby."
Claire sighs. If only she could fix this somehow.
Glitter is quiet. Then she says "Is there anything I could do to make my dad love me more?"
Claire opens her mouth. She closes her mouth. She looks at her text-to-speech app, and her finger hovers over the keyboard, but no words come out. She takes a deep breath. Be honest. Be kind. And she begins to type.
"I don't know. I don't think so. Your dad isn't like this because of you. He's like this because of HIM. So if anything makes him start liking you more, it'll be a change in HIM, not a change in YOU."
Glitter shifts on her feet, considering this. Then she says "Wow, Claire. You're so smart."
"It comes with age," Claire says. "When you are my age, I bet you will be this smart too!"
