Shelter(17)

Connie and Tim live in the Flats, a neighborhood near the river that was developed in the ’50s. The lots are small, divided and subdivided into narrow rectangles, built up with sad little ranches and Capes. After Tim’s divorce, he moved in with Connie to save money for a place of his own. That was nearly ten years ago. No one ever talks about it—how the arrangement was supposed to be temporary, but now has the look and feel of something permanent. The two-bedroom bungalow they share is too small for them both. Everything is big inside. Big furniture, big appliances, big men squeezing around each other in the narrow spaces in between.

As they step into the house, Kyung can’t help but notice the television set—a seventy-inch monster connected to every possible electronic device. In front of it are two overstuffed reclining chairs with a cup holder in each armrest. This is where they usually find Connie and Tim spending their off-hours, watching baseball or the History Channel, but strangely, the screen is black now, and the chairs are empty. Another first.

“Anyone home?” Gillian calls out.

The toilet in the bathroom flushes, and Connie appears, struggling with the zipper on his pants. “Oh, I didn’t hear you come in.”

Ethan runs straight for him, hugging his thick leg.

“You’re like a boa constrictor, aren’t you?”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a snake.” Connie picks him up, pinning his arms to his sides. “It’s one of those snakes that squeezes the air out of you. Like this, see?”

Ethan lets out a squeal, and the look on his face—a pure, unwitting look of joy—this is what Kyung realizes he has to preserve, what he wasn’t mindful of in the car. Four is too young an age to learn what people can do to each other.

Tim joins them, dressed in uniform but holding a can of beer. Gillian gives him a peck on the cheek. “Would you mind taking Ethan outside while Kyung and I talk to Dad?”

“I go on duty at noon, but I’ve got a little time.” He extends a gigantic hand, swallowing Ethan’s small one in his. “You want to see the bird’s nest in the backyard?”

“Are there eggs?”

Tim downs the rest of his can and crushes it as he leads Ethan away. “Maybe. Let’s go see.”

Kyung is aware that Connie and Gillian are waiting for him to say something, but he’s too distracted by his surroundings. There’s an empty bag of potato chips on the matted brown carpet, an uncapped jar of salsa on the table, and dozens of old magazines on the coffee table, all coming loose from their bindings. The messiness of the room reminds him where Gillian gets her housekeeping habits. The McFaddens aren’t poor anymore, not like they used to be, but they live as if their situation hasn’t changed. With their salaries, Connie and Tim could easily afford to tear down the wood paneling, repaint the walls, buy some new furniture that actually fits. They could even hire a cleaning lady to pick up after them once or twice a week, but that’s not the kind of people they are.

“Kyung wants to apologize for this morning,” Gillian finally says.

“Forget it.” Connie sits in his chair, pushing on the armrests until it reclines. “You want a seat?” He looks at Kyung and motions to the other chair.

The recliner sinks like a sponge when he lowers himself into the well-worn groove formed by Tim’s ass. He’s never sat in his chair before, never been invited to, but he recognizes the offer as a gesture.

“I was hoping to be there when my mother gave her statement.”

“You didn’t miss much. Same story we heard from your dad last night, more or less.”

“Oh.” He glances at Gillian, not sure what to say or do next. He doesn’t mind asking for her help, but it’s still a stretch to ask for Connie’s.

“Dad,” Gillian says, resting her hand on his shoulder. “Would you mind telling us what you do know?”

Connie shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “None of it’s good.”

“We could have guessed that,” she says.

This is the problem with being in the dark. All he does is guess. Kyung keeps seeing the Perrys hitting his mother, violating her over and over again like a film reel set to loop. The truth might be worse than his imagination, but knowing what happened has to be better than this.

“I’d appreciate it…,” he says. “I’d appreciate it if you could just tell me what you heard, from my parents or Lentz or whoever. And don’t leave out any details for my sake. Tell me like you’d tell someone you work with.”

“It’s on the news. Have you noticed?”

“We just drove by the house. Reporters everywhere.”

“Any of them try calling you yet?”

Kyung shakes his head. “We’re unlisted.”

“It’s a big deal, a home invasion in this area. Thirty-three years I’ve been on the force, and nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“But what happened, exactly?” Gillian asks. “How did those men even get in the house?”

Tim streaks past the living room window with Ethan on his shoulders. They’re both carrying oversized wands that release giant bubbles into the air. Kyung jumps out of his seat and stands in front of the window, wondering if Tim notices the tree branches, how their sharp tips hang just inches above Ethan’s face. Ethan, however, doesn’t seem to mind. His head is tipped back, and he’s laughing at the crowd of neighborhood kids now gathered on the lawn. They’re all jumping up and down, begging for a turn on Tim’s shoulders, which makes Ethan laugh even harder. You can’t catch us, he shouts. You can’t catch us. Watching them, Kyung gets the sense that this scene has played out dozens, maybe even hundreds of times in the past. Connie carrying Tim as a boy, and now Tim carrying Ethan. It disturbs him, the fact that he has no memory of being the father or the son in such a happy moment.