“Oh, Bids. It’s not fair, you know.” She squeezed my shoulder and shook it a bit. “Every single thing I’ve ever done is with the best intentions. Will you look at me again?” I looked at her again. “You see, I didn’t mean for any of that to happen. I honestly didn’t. There was so much commotion, wasn’t there? I thought once your brother got to a better place, a safer place, you know, inside his messed-up brain, things’d be fine. And then the grease fire. That was so unexpected, wasn’t it? Who could’ve imagined? Not me, for one.”

I looked down at my hand. My eyes were still burning and all those dirty cigarette smells were going up my nose. My heart was going fast, and my head skipped right back to when I was in that smoke. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t breathe. I felt the lock, but I couldn’t open it. It was so hot and it burned and I had to let it go.

“And how’s that brother of yours doing?”

“Good,” I whispered.

“Good? That’s all you got to say?”

“I don’t know.” He went to a movie with his friends, and a girl named Melody. She had long brown hair and wore a tam and a sweater. Gran made a joke and Rowan’s face got red.

“Well he always was a tough one to handle. But I have to tell you.” She put her elbows on the table and put her chin in her hands. “What he did gave me great pleasure. Still does. Can you let him know?”

I opened my mouth. I didn’t understand.

Then she leaned close to me and talked real quiet. “That stuff about Telly. What he said. Of course I confirmed every word to the authorities. Believe me, I had my story straight, and they didn’t need much more. I think about it all the time, and my whole inside fills right up with delight.” Gloria laughed. “Once this confusion is straightened out, I’ll be out enjoying life and Telly’ll still be paying for what he done.” I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m so glad your brother told the truth. Tell Rowan to come visit. The past is the past is the past, and he’s still mine after all.”

I nodded, but I knew that was a lie. Dr. Westerly told me no person owned another person. Not even Gloria.

“You don’t talk much, do you? Even less than you used to.”

I blinked and blinked. My eyes were burning from the cigarettes and my ears rang from all the noise. Everyone was talking and laughing and crying all at once. I didn’t like it there.