The Drop-Off
- You know how the car can sometimes be a weird, magical place where moments of truth happen?
- Auggie and his dad share a biggie while his dad is driving him to graduation.
- Auggie's all dressed up and spiffy, and his dad compliments him on looking great—Auggie says he knows his dad hated his Padawan braid, but his dad says that hate is too strong a word.
- What his dad did hate, he confesses, was the astronaut helmet. He hated it so much, in fact, that he threw it away.
- August can't believe what he is hearing. Furious, he says, "Dad, I loved that helmet! It meant a lot to me! I was bummed beyond belief when it got lost—don't you remember?" (8.The Drop-Off.31).
- Dad reaches out and tilts Auggie's chin toward him, and tells him emphatically how much he loves his son's face, and how sad he was to not be able to see it.
- At this moment, things could still go south. But in classic Auggie form, he suddenly sees the humor in the moment: his mom spent days turning the house upside down looking for a helmet that his dad chucked. So now Auggie totally has something on his dad. Mwahahaha…
- He begins to teasingly extort all manner of payoffs from his dad, and soon they are laughing together again and belting out their favorite song.
- Dad is careful to ask Auggie if he has forgiven him before dropping him off.
- Of course Auggie has. That's how he rolls.