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The Extra Chair

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Cover. In a courtyard lit with string lights, a curly-haired boy carries a wooden folding chair toward a long table where two women set out food. A man and a boy watch from nearby.
The Extra Chair A Comiri Family story
Page 1. Mateo holds a stack of napkins and looks up at a smiling woman carrying bowls. A second woman ties the striped tablecloth onto the courtyard table.
Saturday afternoon was already busy in the courtyard. Mom carried bowls outside. Mama Elena tied the tablecloth to the long wooden table. Mateo carried a stack of napkins. He counted them twice. “Do we really need twelve?” he asked. Mama Elena smiled. “I have a feeling we will find someone for every one.”
Page 2. Neighbors arrive with bread and strawberries, and twin girls run in holding cards. Mateo sets forks and watches a boy with a toy dinosaur sitting on the steps.
People began arriving with things to share. Mrs. Patel brought warm bread wrapped in a towel. Mr. Greene carried a bowl of strawberries. The twins from upstairs came racing in with a deck of cards. As Mateo set forks beside the plates, he noticed a boy sitting quietly on the steps. A man stood beside him, unlocking the apartment that had been empty all summer. “Who is that?” Mateo asked. “Our new neighbors, I think,” Mom said.
Page 3. Mateo rests his hands on a chair and glances at a boy on the steps holding a toy dinosaur. Two women set plates and salad on the table.
The boy looked about Mateo’s age. He had bright green sneakers and a dinosaur tucked under one arm. Mateo liked dinosaurs. “Do they know anyone yet?” he asked. “Probably not many people,” Mom said. Then she added, “A hello can be a lovely beginning.” Mateo looked at the table. Then he looked back at the boy. He knew what she meant.
Page 4. Mateo carefully straightens a napkin at the table while a woman rests her chin on her hand and smiles. The new boy sits on the steps behind.
Mateo straightened a napkin. Then he moved a cup about an inch to the left. Mama Elena watched him and smiled. “Very important cup work?” Mateo laughed a little. “I am thinking.” “What are you thinking about?” Mateo glanced toward the steps. “What am I supposed to say?” Mama Elena shrugged. “You could start with your name.”
Page 5. Mateo crouches on the courtyard stones and holds out a toy stegosaurus to Sam, who sits on a cushioned chair beside the table.
Mateo walked halfway across the courtyard. Then the dinosaur slipped from the boy’s lap and landed on the pavement. Mateo picked it up. “It is a stegosaurus,” he said. The boy looked surprised. “I know.” Mateo handed it back. “I’m Mateo.” “I’m Sam.” Mateo pointed toward the table. “We are eating out here soon.”
Page 6. Mateo hurries a wooden folding chair across the courtyard while the women at the table, Sam and a smiling man look on.
Mateo ran back across the courtyard. “We need another chair.” “There is one beside the storage door,” Mom said. Mateo dragged it over. The chair scraped loudly across the pavement. Everyone looked up. Mateo froze. Mr. Greene laughed first. “That chair certainly knows how to make an entrance.” Mateo laughed too and opened it beside his own chair.
Page 7. Neighbors crowd around the candlelit table, passing bread and food. Mateo and Sam sit side by side, talking and smiling.
Sam came over with his dad, Amir. Names circled the table. Mama Elena brought another plate. Mom made room for Amir’s sandwiches. Mrs. Patel passed the bread. Someone poured lemonade. Soon Sam was laughing about a squirrel that stole tomatoes from a balcony. Then half the table was laughing with him. The extra chair did not feel extra anymore.
Page 8. The whole table bursts out laughing as Sam sputters lemonade beside a delighted Mateo, with neighbors young and old gathered around.
During dinner, Sam told Mateo about trains running past his bedroom window. Mateo told Sam about the squirrel that stole tomatoes from Mrs. Patel’s balcony. Mrs. Patel heard him and smiled. “That squirrel and I have an understanding,” she said. “What understanding?” Sam asked. “I grow the tomatoes. He eats the tomatoes.” Sam laughed so suddenly that lemonade came out his nose. That made Mateo laugh. Then half the table was laughing. The extra chair did not feel extra anymore.
Page 9. Four children kneel on the courtyard stones, drawing a chalk world with a road, a purple lake, a forest, a volcano, a dinosaur and a bakery.
After dinner, the children found a box of sidewalk chalk. Mateo drew a road. Sam added a bridge. The twins drew an enormous purple lake. Mateo made a dinosaur crossing. “That dinosaur needs somewhere to live,” Sam said. So they added a forest. Then a volcano. Then a bakery, because one of the twins decided dinosaurs probably liked muffins. By sunset, their chalk world covered half the courtyard.
Page 10. Mateo and Sam play with toy dinosaurs beside a chalk bakery while the adults talk warmly at the table behind them.
The adults stayed at the table while the children played. Mateo heard Amir talking about the boxes still stacked in his apartment. Mama Elena offered the name of the little grocery store around the corner. Mrs. Patel promised to show him which bus went downtown. Mr. Greene offered a toolbox. Mateo looked over at Sam. Yesterday, Sam had been someone new. Tonight, he was busy deciding whether dinosaurs could run a bakery.
Page 11. Mateo crouches with a napkin, his hand on the folding chair, and looks up at his mother. Sam and his dad wave from the stairs.
As the evening ended, everyone began carrying dishes upstairs. Mateo picked up the napkins that had blown beneath the table. Then he noticed the folding chair. Sam had been sitting there all evening. Mom came up beside him. “You look thoughtful.” Mateo touched the back of the chair. “It was extra before,” he said. Then he looked across the courtyard at Sam waving goodbye. “Now it belongs to somebody.”
Page 12. Sam runs happily across the courtyard while his dad carries a covered dish. Mateo pulls a folding chair toward the set table.
The following Saturday, Mateo carried napkins outside again. This time Sam came running across the courtyard before the table was finished. Amir followed with a covered dish in his hands. Mateo pulled out the folding chair. Then he noticed another empty chair beside the wall. He carried that one over too. Sam looked at him. “Who is that for?” Mateo opened it beside the table. “Whoever comes next.”
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