Chapter 7
The part of the house that demanded instant attention was the garage. His mother had been a tinkerer; she was always busy working on some home improvement project or other. The garage had been her domain—after her death, it had become No Man’s Land. His father had never set foot in it again, at least not to Cody’s knowledge, and he himself had snuck down there only once or twice, when he felt he needed to be close to her tools to remember her warmth. It took an effort and a few painful memories that flashed through his mind, before he felt strong enough to go in there. Tentatively he turned the knob on the ridiculously flimsy door that led from the kitchen into the garage. There was nothing spectacular about the action, he noted with disappointment; the door didn’t even creak. O
