Chapter 17 — Three Men With a Gurney

She did not crack in the direction of confession.

She cracked in the direction of my father.

The following morning, my phone rang, and it was Lucy, calling from the clinic where my father was being readied for his transfer to permanent care.

Her voice was low and fast and frightened in a way I had never once heard from her.

“Alexander, there are three men outside his room with a gurney.