Mark used that story for years. “Victor steals,” he’d say, even after Victor kept me warm.
Then Victor got sick, and our family punished him for becoming the kind of person they already wanted to throw away.”
“They never forgave him.”
“Mark said Victor was dangerous. He said I was too poor to understand risk. When you were little, he told me that if I let Victor near you, people would ask whether I was fit to be your mother.
I believed he could take you from me.
So I made the worst bargain of my life. I kept Victor alive, but I let you think he was a stranger.
Please don’t let Mark put him outside again.
Love, Mom.”
“I let you think he was a stranger.”
I grabbed the box and ran next door.
Mrs. Bell opened the door before I finished knocking.
“You know,” she said.
