Chapter 126

SEPTEMBER 2014

“Can someone tell me what day it is?”

Rhiannon threw the question into the air with a wide, happy smile. The atmosphere in the living room of her cabin had been like this for some time; we no longer met once a week just to talk about our problems.

“Sunday,” Richie said, hesitating.

“Correct,” our therapist agreed, still smiling. “It’s also an anniversary. It is the first year that we are here, all living together. And what are we going to do? Let’s talk about how much our lives have changed since then. What do you think?”

Rhiannon had admitted that she was testing a theory and a procedure on us, and I think it did us all good to know that. It was easier when you forgot about ranks and just healed in peace. It worked, and the group’s behavior was corrected: we were back in tune, ordering ourselves in that natural way that made our lives easier. Discipline, patience, tenacity, and mutual support. Above all, unity. That made the specter of “