Chapter 24 - ETHAN GETS HIS ROOM BACKSeven months after the incident, Ethan asked to return to the house.
I had been living there alone during alternating periods by then.
Ryan had moved into an apartment under temporary orders.
Linda’s belongings were gone.
Every dress.
Every shoe.
Every perfume bottle.
The vanity removed.
I left the room empty except for Ethan’s boxes.
“Do you want it back the same?”
He stood in the doorway.
“No.”
“Okay.”
“I want dinosaurs.”
“Good.”
“And Spider-Man.”
“Both?”
“Yes.”
“That is visually criminal.”
He laughed.
We painted one wall dark blue.
Dinosaur decals.
Spider-Man bedding.
Mr. Chomp on the pillow.
Then Ethan found one cardboard box marked:
LINDA — VANITY.
It had been missed.
He looked at me.
“What do we do?”
“Call the movers.”
“Can we throw it away?”
“No.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“Because it isn’t ours.”
May you like
That mattered.
Boundaries work both ways.
