Noah and Eli had it out in the driveway the following weekend, loudly, for about forty minutes, and I sat in the kitchen and did not go out, which cost me physically.

The real thing was never the name. Noah’s grievance is eight years old and has one sentence in it: *you left me.* And Eli’s answer, which I heard through a window, was: “You left first.

You just did it while standing next to me.”

They came in at some point and made toast at midnight, which I understand is how brothers conclude things.

Noah calls him Eli now. He was the second person in the family to manage it consistently. Sophie was first, immediately, without any visible effort, because she is eighteen and apparently the only functional adult I produced.

Chapter 15 — Produce Aisle

Dale Ferrin was the sheriff who closed the case in eleven days.