Perr

hth the whole Perry house was ful

nal preseason classic by twenty points

n barbecue for twenty-five neighbor

potato salad spooned into metal trays, twenty-pound bags of ice carried

r, laughing with the offensive coordinator's wife. "Don't put

r and wiped the oil off the cutting board.

ontaining four custom sweatshirts - Colton's numb

One for himself, one for my moth

o

so my mother could take pictures. I was still in the old T-shirt with

wanted one. Nobo

, dried them with a linen towel, and

ntil the fluorescent

the counter, the sausage-and-egg casserole

e kitchen, his face red from b

e in Schaumburg tomorrow morning and pick up his new custom mouthguard,

ing, Dad," I said, folding the

the impatience fl

could you possibly have that's more import

pers

waved

pulling your weight around here instead of acting

tairs, heavy-footed, i

tchen until the wh

oors upstairs c

came down through

on sound in Blake's

went down to t

t. Only the dim white glow of my p

ked and standing nex

s into clean dark jeans and a black cre

laptop and my document

ed. The thin wool blanket was f

's cleats and Blake's winter boots, right

re wasn't one thing in tha

es off the floor so the wheels

the outer edge of the trea

p up, the second-

n the doorway

u doing stan

n't a

n my hand. "You still haven

rs. "Drive me to dance at seven-thirty t

," I

den plaque my mother had commis

PE

lores · Co

new, the edges still glossy.

en lit up and the line I'd been readi

ecogn

ver recog

slots. Fill out a form, wait three

or open. Going out doesn't need

ad never given me a single thing t

e. The lock engaging was

The trunk popped, the suitcase went in, the bottom corn

ere

said. "Ter

om the curb and turned

flat midwestern skyline, the suburban ho

it out. Three missed calls, one

ix tomorrow. Don'

SIM tray. The chip from the family plan droppe

ser

o one in that family could reach me again - no one could tell me to go downstairs and clear bo

he highway. The sky w

head against the cold wind

ing in Terminal 5 at O'Hare, w

er open for myself - I w