The horse is already out of the barn and making its way to their doorstep. There are the children to think of first. Sam is still too young to be trusted but keeping him sheltered will not be easy. Should anything happen to him, it will be up to Brenda to tell her mother, who is the one person who would understand everything, the one person who was always there to share it with him, and the one person he isn’t ready to talk to yet.
Valerie sits with him while he bathes, fusses over him, towels him down, and helps him into his deluxe hotel bathrobe. It isn’t until then that she realizes what a terrible funk he is in. She inches closer, until her lips are close enough to his face for her to feel the static. “Look, darling, we’re way out there on a limb together. If you can’t talk to me now, when will you be ready to talk to me?”