The first man asked “What happened to your brother?” The second guy was a little hesitant to share, he cleared his throat and then said “He was ...unished for it and if my mom found them she would cut them up.” “Huh” the first guy said in response. The second guy then volunteered “I found his stash a few times when we were k**s.” “What did you do? Did you rat him out?” the first guy asked. “No, I didn’t tell on him. I just tore them up and left them where I had found them. I figured he would know. After more than fifteen minutes of silence, Trisha had seemed to take the hint. She'd taken another swig from an unmarked bottle in the back seat, and begun the drive home, neither mother or daughter saying a word for the entire trip.Julia hadn't told her father - how could she? - and when he came home, she was locked in her room, holding her knees and rocking back and forth, over and over again. Something had happened to her mother, something bad.Two days later, it happened to her father as. I only recognized it because I saw Cathy’s cell phone one day when Rita called. This was odd and I was not going to say anything right away. I have not heard anything out of Cathy that would say trouble. All I overheard was that she was not feeling ok, but thought it was the flu. I decided to not do anything. What ever was going to happen, I would find out about it sooner or later. Two days later, Zophia gave me a glass of wine and asked me to sit down, we have to talk. Ask any guy, the ‘we. I take it you're ready to sign?"She smiles, with feline amusement. She knows I am trapped.I find my voice at last."I'm honoured to sign."She smiles, thinly this time, a prim smile of satisfaction."It's common in legal practice to read an agreement out loud before signing it. Most people these days find this a tiresome, archaic procedure."She smiles her thin smile, and continues :"But in our case, I feel that we should. It's a confirmation that both parties have fully understood the agreement.