“You haven’t exactly given me a reason to want to be besties,” I pointed out. “I don’t even know you. Maybe if I did, this could be easier for both of us. Maybe we’ve both had hard lives and it would feel better to commiserate a bit. But mostly, I’m just curious where you’ve been. Honestly, after all this time, I thought you were dead.”
She still seemed suspicious, and I didn’t really know why I wanted to talk to her, but it seemed better than sitting around and wishing she would leave. Maybe she’d say something that would help us connect, help me convince her to leave me and my family alone.
“When I was real young, real stupid, I got involved with this guy. He was good-looking, a sweet talker, but mean as a rattlesnake when he got drinking. And some days, he got drinking enough for two
