Rebecca stayed. She didn't talk much. Twenty years alone will do that.
But she watched. She learned names. Lily brought her tea every morning. Mira read her favorite memories aloud.
"You don't have to do that," Rebecca said.
"I want to. You missed twenty years. I'm catching you up."
Julian sat on the roof. His knees hurt. Seventy years old, and he felt every one.
Dara climbed up. "Chen found another fragment."
"Where?"
"School. Elementary. A teacher's assistant. Her fragment makes kids tell the truth. Brutal truth."
"Like what?"
"Kids told their parents about affairs. About secret debts. About which sibling they loved more. Three divorces in one week."
Julian stood. "We go tomorrow."
"You can't keep doing this. You're seventy."
"I'm not dead."
The School
They drove to Arizona
