9781422288276

C HAPTER 1

14

wallpaper beyond the table’s edge, as though contemplating an empty life without Ryan. “I’m not going anywhere,” Ryan reminded her. “So you can stop worrying about that.” “Where’s your father?” Debra looked anxiously around the room, as though she had just remembered her husband. “He was called in to work by that temporary employment agency. Don’t you remember? They phoned a couple of days ago.” “Yes, of course, I remember now.” Ryan knew she was lying. She had so much trouble remembering things lately. A noise from Ryan’s room caught her attention. “What in the world is that?” “Oh, that’s Butch. I think he’s catching a mouse.” “A mouse. Do we have mice?” Debra sounded surprised. A crazy thought flashed across Debra’s mind as she pictured the cat pouncing on the mouse and then flipping the stunned and helpless creature through the air. For a second the mouse seemed to have her face—while the cat looked an awful lot like her husband Tom. Shaking the foolish image from her head, she said, “I’m sorry, Ryan, but will you go in there and see if the mouse is still alive? If it is, please take it away from Butch and set it free in the alley.” “Okay, if you say so.” Her son looked surprised and puzzled, but he disappeared into his room, then returned a second later. “It’s too late.” But Debra had already forgotten the mouse. “It sounds like the rain is letting up,” she said to herself. “And look.” She gazed out the grimy kitchen window. “The sun is trying to break free of the clouds. I think it’s getting nicer. You should go outside and get some fresh air, Ryan.” “What about you? What are you going to do? Are you sure you’ll be okay here alone?” She heard the concern in Ryan’s voice.