Steve pondered this paradigm-shifting piece of information.

And Marvalyn felt like she had overshared.

And then decided that she needed to get back upstairs, because Eric might be wondering where she was. So she got up and said, “Here,” and gave Steve back his THINGS THAT CAN HURT YOU book. And then she went to gather her laundry and head back up to her room. But then stopped. And turned to Steve, who was staring at her. And wondered how it was possible that she had never even seen him before and suddenly asked, “Do you live here?”

“Yeah.” Steve nodded. “Through there.” He pointed toward the hall beyond the entrance to the laundry room. It led to the basement apartment he and his brother shared.

“I haven’t ever … seen you,” said Marvalyn. “I mean—I’m new here—but I’ve never even … seen you.”

“I don’t go out much.”

“Oh.”

“It’s not safe.”

“Oh.” Marvalyn imagined that there was a lot in the world that was unsafe for someone who couldn’t feel pain. And then she pitied him for a moment. And then just wanted to know more about him. And wanted him to know more about her. Like her name, for starters. So she said, “I’m Marvalyn.”

“Yeah, I know,” said Steve. “Ma Dudley told me when I asked her who you were. We saw you and your husband move in.”

“Oh—no—he’s not my husband,” corrected Marvalyn so quickly and defensively that she made Steve feel like he had done something wrong.

“Oh. Sorry,” said Steve.

“No—it’s okay. We probably seem like we’re married. But he’s just my boyfriend,” clarified Marvalyn, smiling.

“Oh.” Steve wondered why Marvalyn was smiling. She didn’t seem happy. Which made Steve wonder if she had chosen the wrong facial expression to go with her emotional state.

“But maybe someday he’ll be my husband, because I love him!” declared Marvalyn. And then she wondered if that was true—and then realized that she didn’t want to be wondering such a thing in front of a stranger, so she stopped and went on: “Anyway, our roof collapsed from all the snow in December. We’re just here until we can get our feet back on the ground.”

“Oh, well that’s good, ’cause that’s what Ma Dudley says her boardinghouse is—a place where people can live till they get their feet back on the ground.”

“Oh,” said Marvalyn, smiling.

“Yeah, we’ve been trying to get our feet back on the ground our whole lives, my brother Rob says.”

Marvalyn nodded, wondering how long it would take for her and Eric to get their feet back on the ground.

And then she pitied herself a little. And then pitied the odd manchild again—whose name she still didn’t know. And suddenly asked, “So, what’s your name?”

“Steve.”

“Steve what?”

“Doody.”

“And you’ve lived here for … how long?” she asked.

“Couple years.”

Marvalyn wondered how it was possible that she didn’t know these brothers, Steve and Rob Doody, who had been living at Ma Dudley’s in Almost, Maine, for the past couple of years.