Craig had moved in. It was a little weird. I sat at the table, watching him and Angie. I didn't really feel like I could tell him what to do, like I could with Ang. But then again I didn't really need to. He was quiet and cautious. He picked up after himself. He looked fearful and guilty if anything spilled, if anything made a loud noise, if anyone moved too fast. Okay, not anyone. Me. More than once I'd seen him flinch away, I'd seen him catch his breath, I'd seen him almost expect me to yell and to hit him.

It was a bit of a strange adjustment. I hadn't really known him when Julia was alive. We didn't see him all that much, and sometimes when she'd spend the day with him I was at work or I just didn't go along. He was in and out, a quick hi here and there and then his dad was picking him up. Had his dad been abusing him back then? I suppose it was possible but I didn't know. We didn't talk about it. I didn't know what to say about it, or even if I should say anything so I didn't. I figured if he wanted to talk about it he'd bring it up, and he didn't.

Right now he was just watching T.V. with Angie and it was a cartoon of her choosing. He didn't impose on us, even down to choosing a T.V. show. I felt bad about that, I felt like he was trying not to be trouble or inconvenient for a couple of reasons. One reason was that he felt like maybe he didn't belong here, that we'd been nice enough to take him in and he didn't want us to regret it. The other reason he was so unassuming and so well behaved was because maybe he had to be that way at his dad's or things would have been worse. Both things weren't really good, but I didn't see how to address them. It wasn't like he was doing anything wrong. What was I supposed to say? Make a mess once in a while and pick a T.V. show?

I needed some outside counsel. I needed advice. Snake. Snake worked with kids, teenagers, whatever. Maybe Snake would know how to deal with him, what I should say and do. I called him up and he was home and willing to meet me for a coffee.

"Craig?" He looked up at me, and there were layers to his looks. On the surface he looked mildly inquisitive but beneath he was afraid, almost terrified. Poor kid. Was he fucked up.

"Yeah?"

"Um, would you mind watching Ang for a bit? I'm going to meet Snake at the coffee shop," I was determined not to lie to him. Not that Albert lied to him, but I'm sure he said the standard, 'it'll never happen again,' line after beatings. And maybe he had meant it when he said it. But then he did it again, making it a lie. I was determined to be absolutely truthful with Craig. I wanted to build some sort of trust.

"Okay," he said, and I knew he'd immediately agree. He agreed to everything I asked, and that was part of the problem. But it worked for now.

"I don't think I'll be too long but I'm not sure. Make sure she goes to bed by eight," I said, and Craig nodded. I went over and kissed her cheek and ruffled his hair. Angie smiled at me and reached up her arms to hug me. Craig stiffened and tried so hard not to pull away.

Snake was already there when I got there since he lives a little closer. I was reminded of when we were kids and we'd meet for fries or pizza and I'd wheedle some advice out of him.

"Jeremiah," Snake said, gesturing me over, "I already ordered your coffee," he said. I smiled distractedly and slid into the seat, sipped my coffee, stared at his freckled hands holding the white ceramic cup.

"What's up?" he said, and I took another sip and let the warm liquid slide down my throat. Closed my eyes. Ugh, I felt so stressed out having Craig around.

"Well, it's Craig. I just kind of feel out of my element. Snake, he is so screwed up. I don't know what to do with him, or how to reach him, or if I should even try to reach him. Do you have any advice? Any wisdom, since you work with kids and all. I mean, you know if you wanted some advice regarding a once loved vehicle I'd be your man,"

He sat back and gathered his thoughts. Sipped his coffee. I waited, in no hurry. Angie was perfectly safe with Craig. He'd probably clean the whole house for me, too. But I didn't want him doing that shit. I wanted him to be a normal 14 year old kid.

"I know it's probably difficult having Craig suddenly thrust into your family. I guess you have to keep in mind some things about him. He's an abused child, and we don't really know the extent of that abuse. It's not something he's going to heal from overnight. But he's safe now. He's just got to adjust to that. Let him. Just give him time. And it's got to be strange for him, being in a new situation, dealing with different people. He's used to living with his dad, dealing with his dad. Now he's got Angela around, he's got you. I think time is the key here. Is he okay? I mean, what's he doing?"

I finished off my coffee, looked at a few of the coffee grounds swirling around the bottom of the cup.

"He's being too good. He cleans, he's polite, he never imposes. He's cautious. I just feel like he's scared,"

Snake nodded, fiddled with the menu.

"He probably is. He's used to trying to be good. He most likely has the mind set that if he's good enough than people won't get angry, like you, like his dad. Kids blame themselves for everything. Maybe you could talk to him about his dad and what happened, tell him it's not his fault,"