Rina and the Loo had taken him in with grace and made him a part of their lives. It was brought home to him when they insisted he come with them to New York for Sammy’s medical school graduation. They included him in Sammy’s wedding. They also took him to Israel when they moved Hannah into seminary: paid for his ticket, gave him his own hotel room and his own personal tour guide. He and the guide went everywhere around the Holy Land as well as Petra in Jordon and the pyramids in Egypt. He explored ancient civilizations, finding out that the cliché was still true; it was a whole big world out there.

Neither of the Deckers tried to be a substitute parent. They were facilitators, and because they were kind, he tried not to be a pain in the ass. No, Rina was not his mother and the Loo was not his father. But truth be told, he knew at this stage in his life that it was far better to have Rina and the Loo than Mom and Dad.

BY MID-NOVEMBER, NEW York was awash in freezing rain while Chicago was experiencing its first snowfall. L.A., on the other hand, was clear skies and sunshine. The air had turned colder but it was far from cold and there was still color left on some of the trees. But what surprised Gabe was that the city was still green. Back east, the chill of fall was turning into the frost of winter. But Rina had a garden. It was weird.

But not as weird as the phone call from his dad. Chris’s voice was a monotone. “You have papers that belong to me.”

No introduction. Gabe had been expecting the call, but his father’s voice always made him stumble. “I do,” he answered. “Where should I mail them?”

“I don’t trust the mail. I’ll come to L.A. and pick them up. Besides, I’d like to see you. What’s your schedule like?”

“Aside from Mondays and Thursday from ten to twelve, I’m completely open.”

Donatti paused. “You dropped out of school?”

“Rina set me up with a tutor. I’m being homeschooled, which is great. I should be done with high school by next June.”

“I haven’t seen any tutoring bill on your credit card.”

“It’s a couple of hours every week, Chris. I pay in cash.”

“What’s going on between ten and twelve on Mondays and Thursdays?”

“I have my piano lessons with Nick at USC.”

A pause. “Nick as in Nicholas Mark?”

Donatti sounded a little peeved. Gabe smiled. “You’re welcome to sit in and see him bust my balls.”

“You should be used to that.”

“He’s a piece of cake compared to you.”

“No need to get nasty. I’ll be by tomorrow at two.”