And I had spent my life confusing the two, and mistaking the accident of blood for the achievement of love, and it cost me seven months of letting people treat me as a vacancy because I could not believe that family could be the ones doing the harm.

I believe it now.

And believing it, I am free to build my life around conduct instead of blood — around the people, related or not, who fold the blanket, and to keep at a careful distance the people, however related, who dump the box.

Chapter 15 — The Empty Refrigerator

The temporary apartment near the base was small and plain — a compact kitchen, a simple bedroom, a fabric couch.

The refrigerator had been stocked with basics: gallons of water, fresh fruit, eggs, and a box of ginger tea bags on the counter.