She shrugs. “C’est la vie. We think Bree is allergic, anyway, so we probably would have given her away eventually.”

As if summoned by the mention of her name, Bree sprints into the living room and throws herself onto her mother’s lap. She seems to oscillate in her opinion of me; some days she is friendly and outgoing, other days shy and quiet. Today is a shy day. She leans up and whispers in Grace’s ear. With a smile, Grace node and gathers the girl into her arms before standing. “Someone needs a story before bedtime.”

She bends Bree down to Jack’s level, and he plants a kiss on his daughters forehead. “Sleep well, babygirl. Give Oliver a hug for me.”

“Who’s Oliver?” I ask.

“He’s my owl,” Bree answers. “He’s not real”

I stifle a laugh. “A pretend owl?”

“Bree’s little eyes roll. “A stuffed owl.”

“Ah, I see,” I concede. “Maybe I can meet him.”

“We’ll think about it,” Bree mumbles as Grace carries her out. We all laugh at that as they disappear around the corner.

I glance at Jack. “So … want to pick up where you left off?”

His eyes dart to the stairs that Grace has ascended with Bree. “Probably should while Grace is preoccupied,” he says quietly. I can tell he still worries about her reaction to this part of his story. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes for a moment. I know where this is going, and that it must be difficult to talk about. Usually I am oblivious to my subjects’ inner turmoil over their stories, unless it shows itself in tears or tone of voice, and even then I still probe and push, ever so gently, for the whole story, telling myself it is the only way to get a true narrative, dut for once I want to provide an out.

“You know” I say quietly, “if you want to skip it—”

“No, no,” he says quickly, his eyes opening as he straightens in his chair. “It’s what happened, and as much as we might hate the things we do or the things that are done to us, they’re our history, you know? If you deny them you’re just lying to yourself, and that never does anyone any good?

JACK

NEEDLESS TO SAY, Dianne’S and my relationship took quite a turn that night.