Gemotions

A giggle escaped Amelia as she arranged the miniature knights on the chessboard. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. She hummed a jaunty tune, a nonsense melody that bubbled up from somewhere deep inside. Her son, Leo, had been glued to the chess set ever since he was old enough to watch her games, eyes wide with fascination. Now, at eight years old, he had taken to the game with a fervor that surpassed her own. She tapped the tiny knight with a fingertip. “Ready to lose, young man?”

His response was a focused glare, head tilted slightly. He had his mother’s intensity. He moved his pawn, and she smiled. Game on. She would let him win this time, of course.