“You didn’t see anybody with him, did you? You didn’t mention anyone. But are you sure he was alone? Could there have been a woman with him?”

Amanda’s face went cross with suspicion. “Why do you keep asking me about a woman? Ryan, you’re acting like you know something I don’t. What woman would be coming to the house?”

The front door opened, distracting both of us, and then Karen came out. She strode down the sidewalk and over to our car, holding an umbrella above her head.

“What the hell does she want?” I asked.

“Easy, Ryan,” Amanda said. “I’ll deal with her. She’s my mother and she’s worried. She’s worried about you too.”

Karen went around to the passenger side, and Amanda powered down the window. “What is it, Mom?”

“I didn’t know you were coming out here. It’s about to pour.”

“We needed to talk about something,” Amanda said.

Karen’s eyes roamed over me and then back to her daughter. “Well.” She wanted an explanation but didn’t want to be seen as the kind of mother who asked for such things. She wanted one offered to her without having to ask. “Henry seems to be getting tired. Is it okay if he goes to sleep?”

“It’s fine. Thank you.”

But Karen stayed in place. Rain started to fall in through the open window, landing on the doorframe and Amanda’s jeans.

Karen leaned over more. “Are you staying for dinner, Ryan?”

“I don’t know, Karen.”

“Okay. Well, you’re welcome. You’re both always welcome.”

“Mom, really. Thank you, but can we just have a minute alone?”

Karen nodded, looking a little hurt, and walked away, finally allowing Amanda to roll the window back up. I watched her cross in front of the car and up the sidewalk to the door. She disappeared into the house.

“What are we going to do about this, Ryan?”

Amanda brought me back into the present moment, to our exchange in the car. Her voice always did that. Everything about her did that. She tethered me to the ground, which lately seemed to constantly be shifting. She was doing one of the things she did best—stepping back, focusing, trying to see things with the clearest eye.

“What did this guy look like?” I asked. “If he wasn’t Kyle, then what did he look like? And we need to have more than ‘average height.’”