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family. To figure things
     out. We can get your assignments, if you’d like.”
    “If I’d like? If I’d like?” She stomped her foot. “You know nothing about high school. Do you know how competitive it is out there? How will I get into
     a good college if I tank this semester?”
    “One week will hardly throw you under the bus.”
    “Ha! I have Algebra 2, Dad. And American Studies. And I’m on varsity soccer this year.”
    He knew there was a right way to handle this and a wrong way; he just didn’t know
     what the right way was, and honestly, he was too tired and stressed out to care.
    He stood up. “We’re leaving at ten. Pack a bag.”
    She grabbed his arm. “Let me stay with Tully!”
    He looked down at her, seeing how anger had stained her pale skin red. “Tully? As
     a chaperone? Uh. No.”
    “Grandma and Grandpa would stay here with me.”
    “Marah, we’re going. We need to be together, just the four of us.”
    She stomped her foot again. “You’re ruining my life.”
    “I doubt that.” He knew he should say something of value or lasting importance. But
     what? He’d already come to despise the platitudes people handed out like breath mints
     after a death. He didn’t believe that time would heal this wound or that Kate was
     in a better place or that they’d learn to go on. There was no way he could pass along
     some hollow sentiment to Marah, who was clearly hanging on by as thin a strand as
     he was.
    She spun away and went into her bathroom and slammed the door.
    He knew better than to wait for her to change her mind. In his bedroom, he grabbed
     his phone and made a call as he walked into the closet, looking for a suitcase.
    “Hello?” Tully answered, sounding as bad as he felt.
    Johnny knew he should apologize for last night, but every time he thought about it,
     he felt a rush of anger. He couldn’t help mentioning her disappointing behavior last
     night, but even as he brought it up, he knew she would defend herself, and she did. It’s what Kate wanted. It pissed him off. She was still talking about it when he cut her off with: “We’re
     going to Kauai today.”
    “What?”
    “We need time together now. You said so yourself. Our flight is at two, on Hawaiian.”
    “That’s not much time to get ready.”
    “Yeah.” He was already worried about that. “I gotta go.” She was still talking, asking
     something about the weather, when he hung up.
    *   *   *
    SeaTac International Airport was surprisingly crowded on this midweek October afternoon
     in 2006. They’d arrived early, to drop off Kate’s brother, Sean, who was returning
     home.
    At the self-service kiosk, Johnny got their boarding passes, and then glanced at his
     children, each of whom held some electronic device; Marah was sending something called
     a text on her new cell phone. He had no idea what a text was and didn’t care. It had
     been Kate who’d wanted their sixteen-year-old to have a cell phone.
    “I’m worried about Marah,” Margie said, coming to stand beside him.
    “Apparently I’m ruining her life by taking her to Kauai.”
    Margie made a tsk ing sound. “If you are not ruining a sixteen-year-old girl’s life, you are not parenting
     her. That’s not what I’m worried about. She regrets how she treated her mother, I
     think. Usually one grows out of that, but when your mom dies…”
    Behind them, the airport’s pneumatic doors whooshed opened and Tully came running
     toward them wearing a sundress, ridiculously high-heeled sandals, and a floppy white
     hat. She was rolling a Louis Vuitton duffel behind her.
    She came to a breathless stop in front of them. “What? What’s wrong? If it’s the time,
     I did my best.”
    Johnny stared at Tully. What the hell was she doing here? Margie said something quietly,
     and then shook her head.
    “Tully!” Marah cried out. “Thank God.”
    Johnny took Tully by the arm and pulled her aside.
    “You aren’t invited on this trip, Tul. It’s