Chapter 4

And now, as he picked up her dishes and flatware in the sink and began to wash them, Todd wondered how long he’d have until he reached the end of the same road his mom went down. The water sluiced over his hands, scalding.

I wonder if Cal will be there for me too.

But he can’t know. No one can.

The next time Todd saw Cal was a night in early summer, a few weeks after Cal had dropped by to rescue Todd from pickles for breakfast. Todd had gone out of his way to avoid Cal, seeing as how his new “affliction” really made Todd an untouchable in the dating department.

Knowing what he now knew about himself made Todd want to make like Greta Garbo and simply say, “I want to be alone.” Cute as hell or not, Cal was off limits. He wouldn’t want me if he knew going there could result in something that could cut short his life.

So Todd checked out the front room window to make sure Cal wasn’t in his yard when he went out to collect the raft of bills, circulars, and come-ons he called mail.