“You need structure , Leo. Like a soufflé,” she’d said on the phone.

Just as the credits rolled, Leo’s doorbell rang.

“Remember when you wanted me to be a lawyer, and I drew comics instead? I’m not sorry. But I am sorry I never explained why. Comics make people laugh. And laughter, I just learned, is the best ingredient.”

Leo grinned. “Mom. We’re not making pizza tonight. We’re making blackened onion soup and floor crêpes. And I need to tell you something.”

Anita stared at him for a long second. Then she laughed—a real, full belly laugh.

His mother stood there with a bag of wilted vegetables and a frozen pizza she’d brought “just in case.”