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CHAPTER 23

"It says you won’t graduate" I held the letter froh School, the one that outlined why Trey would not beto "Pomp and Circumstance" with his fellow classmates unless he added driver’s education to his schedule

"It’s fascism," he said "Pure fasciset a high school diploma without it"

"We could sue We could call the ACLU"

"This isn’t funny"

I busied s, Trey’s favorite, minus the bacon, as he’d recently discovered the truth about industrialized pig far His passion e activist?--and I could feel it rising into living a simpler, more natural life I always knew that to be true, but the notion never sank deep

Trey pushed back fro "I’ether any pancake fest, like we used to" I could hear in s that acted as instant repellant to a teenager--disappointot a project to work on Save it and I’ll eat when I get back"

"Fine," I said "But I’ you"

"I can takeinto a car withincident He’d been surly and defensive any tiht it up Actually, surly and defensive seemed to be his pri worried and annoyed with his behavior Ultimately worry won out, as it always does with mothers, and I made an appointment with the therapist we used after Jesse’s death He went once, about three weeks after the car accident, and then refused to go back

"We’re going to have to talk about this again It’s not going to go away"

"I need to go away," he said "Far away"

He was trying to hurt e assassin, he did "Please don’t say that, Trey We have each other Can’t we be nice?"

"Sean’s co the question

Once upon a time, I didn’t mind unexpected visitors But that hen I showered everyand kept myself as well maintained as Mr Eckhardt’s BMW A quick scan ofa bra "Are you sure it’s him?"

My son shot me a look that said he was less than impressed with me, but for other reasons "Yeah, it’s definitely the cop you’re trying to hook up with," he said before stepping out "I’ll let him know you made pancakes"

Sean wore his uniform, so I was briefly uneasy "Is there a problem, Officer?"

He smiled shyly Occasional hesitance in a confidenta bra

"I just got off ht I’d stop in"

"Really?"

"Well, I did have sorew serious, more professional, and my stomach dropped

"Trey?"

"Oh, no," he said quickly "Not hihbor, Bill Eckhardt"