Riley sheepishly steps around the counter to wipe my sticky cheek before tending to her own stream of tears.

“Everything’ll be okay,” she sniffs, “‘Cause some days are harder than others. And sometimes you might forget how to do things…like eating.”

She seems to be trying out different kinds of laughter but hasn’t yet found one that doesn’t sounds like sniffles and held-back tears.

“I’ve got it! You can watch me do it! See? Right in the hole — mmm.” She continues with her teary mouthful, “And then chewing happens — nom nom. And at the end, you swallow the food.”