I had gained my peace of mind, the simple daily quiet of a home with no secrets in it.

And most of all I had gained my son back, whole and unburdened, a magnificent boy who would never again feel that it was his job to carry the weight of the adults around him.

We had not survived the storm by pretending it wasn’t there, the way I had pretended for so long, with my back to the truth and my eyes on the stove.

We had survived it the only way anyone ever really does.