No one explained anything. Mom said something like, “I still don’t know why he has to be there,” and Frick told her, “Because it matters. It concerns him.” When we got home, parked the truck in the driveway, Mom hurried inside and Frick and I followed her. She yelled for Paige, but Paige didn’t say anything. She was in the living room, sitting on the couch with a blanket over her lap, spacing out, looking at herself and maybe at all of us in the reflection of the black-screen TV as we huddled around her.

“Honey,” Mom said, putting her hand on Paige’s shoulder. She sounded like she wanted to cry, but Mom never cried. “Where is it?” Paige looked up at her, and then her eyes flicked to the hallway and to the bathroom. “Okay,” Mom said. She turned to me. “David, gwus, go to your room. We’ll get you in a bit.”

I did, but I didn’t want to be in my room. I wanted to help, to be part of it all. Whatever all of it was. On my bed, I set out my black plastic tub, took out a few men. I didn’t play with them, just looked at them, waiting for Mom to come get me. The house was quiet, and my thoughts were quiet, too. Muted. I heard Mom and Frick in the bathroom. He was telling her they needed a case, something hard that wouldn’t leak.

And then I knew how to be part of it all, how to make it concern me. I grabbed my black plastic tub and dumped all my men out onto my bed. Mom and Frick were in Mom’s room, and I opened my bedroom door. Mom heard and hollered for me to get back in my room.

“Here,” I said. “Here, Mumma.”

Her feet were heavy on the ground and I felt the house shake when she stomped. She had crazy eyes when she came out of her room, but when she saw me holding out to her my black plastic tub her stare softened under her short hair and she smiled.

“Here,” I said again. “You can use it. I don’t need it.”

Frick looked it over, said it was good, and he took it into the bathroom. Mom took my hand, guided me to the living room, and sat me on the couch next to Paige.

Mom grabbed a kitchen chair and brought it next to the couch, sat close to Paige, put her hand on her leg, and I did too, but she looked like she didn’t want anyone touching her.

After some time, Frick came out of the bathroom and he carried my black plastic tub, water dripping down its side. He set it down on the floor and went to the bedroom, came back out with his deer-hide bag. “I’m ready,” he said to no one, and I got up and Mom got up but Paige stayed sitting.

“Come, doosis,” Mom told her. “It has to be done.”