The barn was where Michael found the die-cutting tools he needed to make what was, at first, just a toy for Avery. Later, it became a prototype that would help him launch Anibitz, his new side business based on that old game he’d played with Ann and Poppy, where they’d combine two, three, four parts of animals. A centipede, catfish, and crow: the “centifishow.” A hyena, shark, and gerbil: the “hyarkbil.” The thin wooden pieces snapped together like jigsaw-puzzle pieces, and the game was to try to guess and name the creations, and to find creations that represented who you were—your “spirit Anibitz.” The concept had become so successful that he could hardly say it was a side business anymore, and sales had recently surged thanks to a few magazine articles and some active Anibitz fan sites. He could barely keep up with the orders on his own anymore, and soon he might need to cash out his share in the landscaping company to raise funds to invest in expansion.

His distributor was a freelance rep from Los Angeles named Sandi. She was so into Anibitz that he swore she played with the toys herself when she wasn’t talking to him about social media and the youth market. She had a million ideas for his product: a clothing line, coloring books, plastic figures that snapped together, an educational line for science teachers, and a bunch of other stuff Michael tuned out because she always called him at the most inopportune time, like when he was fixing an overflowing toilet for Shelby, or firing an employee with a heroin habit.

Sandi had called him earlier that week, excited. “The kids in Japan are going apeshit for them,” she said.

“Great.” Michael must have sounded unimpressed.

“Michael! Did you hear me? Japan! The kids are combobulating like crazy.”

“Combobulating” was the process of selecting the animal segments that customers could choose from to make their own Anibitz creation. You could pick up to three, although Sandi was already imagining how they might expand to four, maybe even five, if they could find a plastics manufacturer that could come up with a decent prototype.

There was even talk of opening an Anibitz showroom somewhere. The past two years, during the low season, this was what Michael had been focused on. He’d always believed in his idea, although he’d rather work outside than deal with the business that needed to be done on his computer.