He didn’t attend the science camp. He didn’t ask the girl out on a date. He didn’t accept the scholarship to Dartmouth. He attended Boise State, which was just as good, his mother assured him, earning his bachelor’s and then pursuing his master’s in genetics. And in the end, she was the one who left him, when a bad case of flu led to pneumonia and shut down her lungs.

He buried her on a hillside cemetery in Boise. He visited her every Sunday and left a fresh arrangement of flowers. He received the job offer from Monsanto a few weeks before graduation and didn’t even tell them he’d think about it. He just said yes. An enthusiastic yes. He had barely traveled out of his own city, and Washington State sounded like a great adventure. He left a plaster figure of Saint Julian on her grave when he said goodbye.

It is night when Isaac, Director Ricketts, and the agents depart the formation and drive slowly along the old rutted logging road, trying to keep their load steady. After about a quarter mile, a buck bounds out of the woods and hoofs to a stop before the blaze of their headlights. Its black eyes brighten in the reflection, and Isaac feels as if those eyes are burning into him.

Their driver brakes but then begins to ease forward, as if to nudge the deer out of the way. “Hold on,” Peaches says in a whisper.

“I’m sorry, sir? What did you say?”

“I said hold on, please.” The deer continues to stare. Its horns form a brambled crown. It lowers its head, maybe in deference or maybe to ready a charge.

“What are you waiting for?” Director Ricketts says.

“The stag,” he says quietly, as if afraid he’ll frighten it off.

“What?” She leans over the seat and toots the horn. “Let’s go already!”

The deer flinches at the sound and scrambles for the side of the road; it leaps between two trees and vanishes with a swirl of fog. Isaac feels a pull, wishing he could follow. But he stays with Director Ricketts. Of course he does.

15

Nora stands by the window, watching the rain slap the glass and the trees toss in the yard. In the reflection, she can see Jack behind her in the kitchen as he fills the kettle and sets it on the stovetop, then cranks the burner. A ghost version of him—a ghost version of them—smeared through with raindrops.