“I wanted you to see this,” he said, “because it’s the truth and I never show it to people. My parents were both alcoholics. My dad worked as a plumber…my mom was a professional smoker and that was about it. They fought a lot and died in this house, and to be honest, I don’t miss them and I’m not sorry. If that makes me a bastard, I’m okay with it.”

Marie-Terese walked over to the stove. Sitting on the cooktop, between the gas burners, there was an old spoon cradle which she picked up and dusted off. “‘The Great Escape…’”

“An amusement park up north. Ever heard of it?”

“No. As I said, I’m not from here.”

He came over, looking at the cheap, touristy thing with the red logo on it. “I bought that on a school field trip. I thought maybe if the other kids saw me getting something homey for my mother, they wouldn’t guess what she really was like. For some reason, the lie was important to me. I wanted to be normal.”

Marie-Terese put the thing back with more care than it deserved and stayed where she was, staring at the thing. “I go to a prayer group every Tuesday and Friday night. At St. Patrick’s.”

Her revealation caught his breath…and he had to force himself to be cool. “You’re Catholic? Me, too. Or at least my parents were married in a Catholic church. I’m lapsed and then some.”

She tucked some of her hair behind her ear and took a shuddering breath. “I go…I go to the meetings because I want to be around the normal people. I want to be…like them again someday.” Her eyes flashed up and met his. “So I understand. I understand…all of this. Not just the house, but why you don’t bring people here.”

Vin’s heart thundered in his chest. “I’m glad,” he said hoarsely.

Her eyes drifted around. “Yes…every bit of this, I get.”

He held out his hand. “Come with me. Let me show you the rest of the place.”

She took what he offered, and the warmth of her palm in his was transformative, lighting up his whole body, showing him just exactly how cold and numb he usually was. He’d been hoping she’d accept him even with this in his background. Praying.

And now that he saw she did, for some reason he wanted to thank God.

As they went up the stairs, the steps squeaked under the fetid carpet cover and the banister was about as steady as a drunk on a boat. At the top landing, he bypassed his parents’ room, went down past the single bathroom, and paused in front of a closed door.

“This was where I slept.”