“I need you to come to the house.”
“What happened?”
I looked through the pantry doorway at the letters.
“There are several things we should discuss in person.”
His tone changed.
Not into anger.
Into fear.
“Did he show you the room?”
I said nothing for a moment.
“You know about it?”
“I know it exists.”
“Then please come home, Mr. Granger.”
“I’m leaving now.”
He ended the call.
Silas had been listening from the doorway.
“He knows,” he said.
“He knows there’s a room.”
“He knows everything.”
The certainty in his voice sounded older than seven.
“We don’t know that yet.”
Silas pressed his lips together. He wanted to argue, but instead he walked into the living room and began moving newspapers from a chair.
“What are you doing?”
“Making somewhere for you to sit.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Grandma says guests shouldn’t see the mess.”
He lifted another bundle with both arms.
I took it from him.
“You’re not responsible for making this house look a certain way.”
His hands remained suspended for a moment, empty and uncertain.
Then he let them fall.
We cleared one chair together.
While we waited, I asked about his daily routine. Silas told me that his father dropped him at school before work. His grandmother usually picked him up or waited for him at the house. Some evenings Daniel came before dinner. Other nights Silas stayed until nearly nine.
“Does your grandmother cook for you?”
“Mostly.”
“Do you have enough to eat?”
