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Chapters (77)
  1. Cover
  2. Title
  3. Also by Silas House
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Contents
  7. Part One
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. Part Two
  27. 1
  28. 2
  29. 3
  30. 4
  31. 5
  32. 6
  33. 7
  34. 8
  35. 9
  36. 10
  37. Part Three
  38. 1
  39. 2
  40. 3
  41. 4
  42. 5
  43. 6
  44. 7
  45. 8
  46. 9
  47. 10
  48. 11
  49. 12
  50. 13
  51. 14
  52. 15
  53. 16
  54. 17
  55. 18
  56. 19
  57. 20
  58. 21
  59. 22
  60. 23
  61. 24
  62. 25
  63. 26
  64. 27
  65. 28
  66. 29
  67. 30
  68. 31
  69. Part Four
  70. 1
  71. 2
  72. 3
  73. Epilogue: The Everything
  74. Acknowledgments
  75. About the Author
  76. About Algonquin
  77. Copyright

“Grant eternal rest to her, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”

“Amen,” they say in unison, and this time Asher can hear Justin’s small voice in the mix.

Asher and Evona have laid out a lunch on the tables by the pool. They had moved around in Bell’s kitchen together like parts on the same machine. Silent while Justin sat at Bell’s piano, figuring out how to play a Tom Petty song. He is picking it up on his own and pecks on the keys every time they are at her house.

Asher has taken his chances in being part of the memorial service but now he motions for Justin and they go back to the house. It is too dangerous to be mixing and mingling with people right now; anyone might recognize them after the cards and how much they’ve been on the news lately. Asher stands in the shadows of the porch for a time, watching the people eating and talking in the yard, Evona seeing to all of them. Behind him, Shady is whining. When he turns back to Justin he finds that the boy is sitting on the wicker rocker, clenching at his throat, trying to catch his breath. He can’t breathe.

Asher rushes over to him and finds that Justin is covered in cold sweat; his dress shirt is soaking wet. All he knows to do is say his son’s name over and over, but that doesn’t change anything. Justin is struggling to talk and eventually Asher figures out that he is saying he can’t breathe. Shady barks once, then whines some more, as if telling Asher he has to do something. Asher pulls Justin to him, holds on to him as tightly as he can and feels Justin’s heart pounding against his chest.

Evona is beside him, grabbing hold of Justin’s hand. “I think he’s having an anxiety attack,” she says. “Breathe really slow, Justin. Don’t think about anything but your breathing, okay?”

“Just hold on, little man,” Asher says, and the tighter he holds on to him, the calmer Justin becomes. A time passes and at last Justin has become completely still. Justin moves back into the wicker rocker, leaning over with his hands clutched before him.

“I need to talk to Granny,” he says in a monotone, calm and measured. “I need to see her. And Mom. I need to see them.”

“I wish you could, buddy,” Asher says. “But that’s not possible right now.”

Justin doesn’t argue. He goes into his room with Shady trotting along behind him, and by the time Asher has followed he finds that Justin has closed and locked his bedroom door.

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The Everything