life was a brand, always

t day in Orlando, Kevin

ntitled, always believing he deserved

ingle, beloved diner in suburban New Jersey,

in, it was

wanting to "adopt" him, a fantasy he

ed that fantasy, and he

ubtle cruelty, of gasli

nts, "accidentally" break cherished poss

orments became mo

always with a plausible deniability that left our pare

is failed destiny, the reason h

he final, inevitable act

eat, that future a fresh, raw

lculated hour, then fou

my eyes wide with

out, "Kevin. He's mis

otic, futile effort in

men, the van, careful to omit an

, I played the part of th

ation, as I knew it

e, a "runaway" teenager seeking adven

r faces etched with a grief I knew

of pity and a dark, cold sat

in motion. Ke

grieving siste