I shake my head. “I don’t feel good,” I say. Another lie in the pile of lies building around me.

She examines me. Her fingers are cool against my forehead. “You don’t feel warm. Why don’t you go rest on the couch, and I’ll make you some hot chocolate?”

My smile is wobbly at best. “Okay.”

I curl up in the corner with my favorite blanket. Gram comes in once the hot chocolate is ready and hands it to me. “I know what might make you feel better. Would you like another story?”

Not after her last story. I don’t want to think about anyone’s dad hurting his family. Maybe Gram was right and some things should stay forgotten. Then again, how will I find what might cure Gram if I don’t listen?

“Okay.”

She leans back, and I place my head on her shoulder. Her voice vibrates against my cheek as she speaks.

“One winter day Jacob and I snuck out of school. We spent the day at the park near our apartment building. There was a lake in the park that had frozen over, and the ice seemed to go for miles. He dared me to walk out on it with him.

“I worried it might break and swallow us whole. I remember thinking, will the water welcome me, or spit me back out? It was so cold that ice crystals formed on our eyelashes and I could no longer feel my fingers or toes. We finally went to my apartment. My parents were at work, and we pretended it was just the two of us in the whole world, with the teakettle whistling and my cat begging us to pet him.

“I was anxious that his papa would be angry if he found out that Jacob skipped school. But Jacob told me that his papa wouldn’t care. His smile seemed so carefree, but Jacob could never lie without smiling. I liked that about him. How I could tell what he was thinking or feeling even if his words said something different.

“I was furious at his papa for hurting him. Mama said some men changed when they drank too much. The alcohol changed them to someone else entirely. They could be a person you loved and then switch to someone you didn’t even recognize.

“I wished Jacob had a papa like mine. That night Papa came home early and took Mama and me to the theater. We got the best seats because of Papa. His job made him very important, and people always gave him gifts. And the play was too magical to put into words. The lead actress sang like an angel.”

Gram smiles dreamily, as if she could still hear the actress. She and I sit for what seems like hours after she finishes her story. She breathes like she’s just done the hundred-yard dash.