ng I heard. It was a familiar sound, a prelude

mpact with the framed photo of our smiling fam

through the ringing in my ea

you came from. Can't even keep your man h

ed from the couch, not even bot

What did she exp

voice a cold, smooth stone skippi

both know you won't. You have nothing. I'll

t. The exa

mind' s eye. The smell of stale cigarettes and despair evaporated. The

s from this very second, abandoned by ever

w, I w

beg. The rage that had made me smash the pic

tic husband, the man whose political ambi

I said, my voice even

ped. Even my father-in-law, silent in his hospital bed in the

y showed a crack. He stared at me, sear

did yo

he papers. You can have the k

not to the small, cramped den where I usually slept to

ung in the closet, his cologne lingered in the air

he floor. I went to the closet and pulled his suits from their hangers, letting them fall into a heap

he doorway, his sho

t the hell ar

an moving my own few belongings fr

y room now

e demanded, his voice rising. "He needs his med

. I looked him directly in the eye, feel

orce, Ethan. He's yo