Upstairs a door creaked and Mason called for water.

Lauren went to him without hesitation.

I remained alone in the kitchen, looking at a refrigerator covered with spelling tests, drawings, and an old picture of Mason in a superhero cape.

There was no space in those photographs for an absent father, yet every image was evidence of how lovingly Lauren had filled the space herself.

Later, lying in the guest room, I could hear the house clicking as the heat came on.

I thought about sending my mother a message.