“It's her afternoon off.” Hank finally descended the stairs enough for them to see him, and stopped about halfway down. “Who's that with you?” Hank Bonden was leaner than Rose had imagined, wiry even. He had long, curly gray hair and a kind, intelligent face that hadn't been diminished by the burn scars to his neck, forehead and around his eyes. If anything, the scarring made him look even wiser, like a blind seer with a sense of humor. But it was clear that he was fully blind. The layout of the downstairs made sense now. “That's an aftershave I've never smelled before—a young man's aftershave. Your son?”

“Yes. This is my Andy, visiting from college.”

Hank finished his descent with more confidence, but still grabbing hold of the railing with both hands. At the bottom, he extended his hand to no one in particular. “Pleased to finally meet you, Andy.”

“You too, sir.” Despite his bemused expression, Andy firmly shook the man's hand. Rose could tell they both used a strong grip.

“And if I'm not mistaken, there's a dark beauty in here somewhere. That fragrance is—”

He halted, mid-sniff, and stood up straight. Sniffed high into the air a few more times as he swiveled this way and that, before finally settling on Rose. Then Bellamy. His cloudy eyes appeared to look through them, past them, between them.

“Don't move,” he told Bellamy. With a cautious hand, he felt his way up Bellamy's shirt sleeve to his shoulder, then swept his fingers through that long blond hair, and touched the features of his face with, it seemed to Rose, an anticipation bordering on fascination. Rose carefully watched Bellamy’s face as he held a calm and cool manner at the total stranger touching him in odd ways. As if he understood the situation beyond what Rose could comprehend. Hank was almost breathless as he shook his head ever so slightly and then stumbled back a step.

“What's wrong?” asked Rose, worried more than puzzled for the first time. She couldn't explain why. “What's the matter?”

“Here, steady yourself on me.” Blythe stepped between them, bade Hank to put a hand on her shoulder. He did. She led him into the living room, leaving Rose and Bellamy to share an incredulous glance. Meanwhile, Andy, who'd taken it upon himself to film the whole scene on his Smartphone, saved the video file and strode after his mom without saying a word, an impish nonchalance shaping his whole manner in a way that infuriated Rose. It was as if he was saying, I told you something was off about your new boyfriend; sucks to be you right now.

“I think-I think I need a glass of water,” he stated.

“Mom, what's going on?” Rose asked, pouring a glass of water from a giant jug and handing it to Hank at his request. “What's the deal, Mr. Bonden? You seem to know him from somewhere—Bellamy, I mean.”