Page 67 of True North

She gazed at him for a moment, then nodded. “All right. That’s fair.” She hesitated. “Alyosha told us you killed someone.”

“Well, I didn’t mean to. But yes.”

She nodded a few more times. “Okay. Wow. Are you in trouble?”

“Nothing you need to worry about,” he said.

“So, you are, but you don’t want mom to freak out. Are you going to call them?”

“Soon. I need to—” He rubbed his eyes. He didn’t even know where he was going to sleep tonight. “I’m sure they’re asleep right now anyway.”

“Please call them tomorrow. They’ve really been suffering. Dad, too, he’s just not as public about it.”

There was the guilt again, chewing away at the base of his heart, where the deepest feelings settled. “I will. The time difference—maybe tomorrow night, for them. But I promise I’ll call.”

“Okay. Well.” She cleared her throat. “Don’t be a stranger.”

“I am, though,” he said. “Aren’t I? We’re strangers now.”

“No,” she said. “You’ll always be my Misha.”

He sat on the porch for a while after they hung up, rocking in the chair and watching cars pass on the road. He could picture Katya going about her bedtime routine, washing her face and setting out a dish of food for her cat. He wondered if she even lived in the same apartment anymore, on the north end of the city not far from Severnyy Park. They were strangers now, no matter what she had said, after sharing a womb and every day of their lives for twenty years.

He looked at her picture, at that single message from last fall. He took a picture of his view from the porch—the yard, the trees, the road beyond—and sent it to her. He had to believe there was still time to make amends.

The front door to the house was locked. He went around the back and found Marie still sitting there, holding her coffee. “Lenny’s cooking up some bacon inside,” she told him. “We can go in if you’re hungry.”

“Thanks,” Misha said. “Bacon is great.”

Amid the cheerful chaos of breakfast preparations, the dog begging for scraps, and Lenny and Marie laughing about something their niece had done, Misha slipped into the guest room and closed the door. He hadn’t made the bed, and he climbed right back in, rearranging the pillows so he was propped up comfortably in a pillow nest. Curled there in the sunlit room, he opened up his message thread with JT.

The first message was dated to the night Misha was arrested. From the timestamp, JT had sent it shortly after Misha was picked up by the cops.Don’t say anything. I’m getting help.

Then, half an hour later:My agent recommended a lawyer. She’s on her way. Adeola Oyeyemi.

Then there was a break of several days. Presumably, Adeola had told him that Misha didn’t have his phone. The next messages were from the afternoon Misha had been released, after he and JT argued in the kitchen and Misha ran out to roam in the forest.

I’m sorry. I lost my temper. I’ve been stressed but that’s not an excuse.

I hope you’ll come home soon. I made the stew you like.

Maybe we can talk about things this evening.

Then there was another break until the following morning. From the timestamp, JT had sent the next message as soon as he woke up, probably still lying in bed.Where are you? You went out for a walk?

Fifteen minutes later,I’m putting the coffee on so you’d better hustle.

Almost an hour passed before the next message. Misha could envision JT cooking and eating breakfast, sitting at the kitchen table with his coffee, telling himself not to worry, that Misha would be back soon, that he had just gone out to roam in the woods the way he so often did.

Ok I’m going into town, I’ll be back by lunch. Will you text me when you get home to let me know you’re back?

Then a couple of hours later:I’m getting kind of worried. Please let me know you’re ok.

Misha bit down hard on his lip, overcome with guilt.Kind of worriedin JT parlance meant he’d probably already been on the phone with both Lenny and Adeola, trying to figure out if either of them had heard from Misha. He’d probably gone out along the lakeshore and into the woods to look for Misha. He was probably pretty scared.

There were no more text messages until that evening, around the time Misha was sitting on Lenny’s jetty with the dog.Glad to hear you’re safe, JT had written, which meant Lenny had told him Misha had turned up.I don’t know what I did but I’m sorry.

The final messages had come late last night, after Misha was asleep in the guest room, and later than JT was usually still awake.The house is too quiet without you,andThe bed is too empty without you,and, finally,I hope you’ll come home soon. I miss you so much.