Dorothy said. We were sitting in the shade, watching the men pitching horseshoes and drinking. Xavier and his cousins had walked down to a pond nearby, but I was too hot to move. I figured I wasn’t really breaking my promise to Elise by staying at the house while Xavier went swimming. I was surrounded by his family and Xavier was with five of the biggest boys I had ever seen. We might not be able to see each other, but I felt safe. “Mom has a metaphysical shop...The Astral Plane. She usually sells candles and stuff to the new-agers in the area. Tawnya helps with the shop and keeps the house mostly. She’s been a big part of raising me and Mairin. Mom’s a little scattered sometimes.” “The shop must be how you know Elise,” Dorothy said. “She always was a strange one, but her son,” Dorothy watched her husband fondly. “He’s the best man I’ve ever met. Xavier’s a close second, though.” “He had great role models,”
