“What happened again?”

“What happen to my papa. I not know I could stop it. And when it looked so bad, I thought, Better dead than like my papa. Let them finish it.”

“What happened?”

But he had begun to cry now. He sobbed for a long time, his head slipping down to her shoulder, soaking her nightdress with his tears. She stroked his hair, kissed his cheek, until finally he calmed.

When he sat up straight again, she handed him the hot chocolate. He sipped it and the milk scum got caught on his mustache. They laughed as he drew it into his mouth and she wiped the rest off.

“Why didn’t you tell Sheriff Judd you’d seen them?”

“What? Oh, they was just punks,” he said. “Jumped him when he get out the truck to go to the bathroom.”

This was the story in the paper, though it didn’t really make sense. Frank wouldn’t tell her anything.

They sat quietly for a while. Annie realized this wasn’t the best time to tell him, but there would be no best time, and perhaps he would be too emotionally exhausted now to have the energy to blow his top. “Papa, I have something to tell you.”

He looked at her.

“I’m going to have a baby.”

She braced herself.

“Who?”

“Lew.”

“That boy? He’s mad in the head. He’s got nothing.”

He searched the room as if for something to help him. She waited for him to start shouting, but all at once, his whole body, which had been tensing and urging forward, deflated, his head sinking back against the armchair.

“Mamma mia,” he murmured, letting out a long breath. Staring up into the ceiling, he added softly, “È la volontà di Dio. La vita che era tolta è restituita. Basta.”

He leaned forward and kissed Annie’s forehead. “Does the boy know?”

Stunned by this reaction, it took her a second to respond. “I told him.”

“What he say?”

“Says he loves me.”

“What your mama say?”

“Haven’t told her. I’m going to tell her now. Stay here, Papa.”

Annie hurried upstairs and into her parents’ bedroom. She could hardly believe how her dad had reacted and felt oddly disappointed. Her mom was snoring lightly. She rubbed her arm.

Waking with a start, her mom looked around and said, “Where your dad?”

“Downstairs.”

“Is it Frank?”

“No, nothing like that. I got to tell you something.”

Her mom switched on the lamp beside the bed and sat up. “What is it, honey?”

“I’m going to have a baby.”

Her mom just stared at her.

“It’s Lew. I told him. He wants to marry me.”

Frowning fiercely, her mom took hold of Annie’s arm. “Honey, get your shoes on, we go for a walk.”

“What?”

“It works. It works for my friend Myla. Is not unholy, is natural. We just keep walking, tire you out, walk all night, tire you out. Don’t eat. It works, get rid of…get rid of it. It won’t hurt you. Is natural. God forgives. You just get tired and get rid of it. Just a bit of blood, that’s all.”