Chapter 24

I remembered back when Greg and Jax had arrived at the hotel. Both were in their late forties or early fifties, my granddad’s age. They’d introduced themselves to my dad as a couple in a relationship made up of fifteen years of one-night stands, something I didn’t understand at the time, but thought was funny later. They weren’t together, but they were together, they’d told him, and wanted a resting place where they could be themselves.

One of the things I loved best about my relatives was how readily they folded those who asked to be part of a family into ours. As a kid I’d grown up with what seemed like an extra large group of adult men to correct and guide me. But not one of them ever hit me or threatened to do so.