The problem does not come from inside the house.

Mina is already in the kitchen, in the car line, in the extra toothbrush cup. Then the building sells and Janet From Soccer does the math in a parking lot. Friend is a worn sentence. Niece is a fiction the town prefers.

Claire wants Mina to move in for good. Daniel will not shrink her to make the neighbors comfortable. Mina is scared of both exits: being the rumor, or pretending she was only passing through.

They choose the rug. The guest room stays hers on paper. Their bed stays hers when the door can be honest. The job stays a job on the books. The rest stays love.

Winter is ordinary. Spring is two lines on a test. The house learns a fifth figure on the fridge drawing. The town can keep its silence. The Brennans have a word that fits.