20An oscillating fan stood on the gray tile floor of a sunbaked dining room. The whoosh and whirring of its blades labored to ease the nearby minds in some subliminal fashion. However, the heat of the day and the fever in the room overwhelmed its effort. Victoria Carrier sat across from Jake. The boy’s Aunt Beth intertwined her fingers with his.
“What do you think your father would say?” Victoria shouted.
Jake girded himself against her verbal onslaught, holding his expression firm against his mother’s scrutiny.
“What do you care? It’s not like he’s here.” Jake’s words forced his mother back in her chair.
“Take a deep breath Victoria.” Beth tried a soothing tone. “He hasn’t done anything so terrible.” She squeezed Jake’s fingers.
“What are you talking about? You saw the same thing I d
