Half the time, when Lester came home after work, he found Sloane curled up in his bed or sitting at the Hatchitt's kitchen table — it was more likely when he was coming home from a day shift than if he was leaving work in the morning. It was easy to sit with her, even if sometimes he didn't know what to say to the returned Sloane, he still felt like she understood him better than anyone else did — because she had her whole life, and her sojourn to the land of the dead did not make that different.

So he was not surprised to see her when he stepped in his bedroom door. Lester set his bag down and sat down on his desk, as he usually did when she was here — sitting in the bed with her felt like a bridge too far.

"Do you think you're ready?" he asked. The apprenticeship would be good for Sloane, Lester thought — but she was clearly having a difficult time.