The Information Session

The first Tuesday of January was so cold that the radiator in Room 4 had given up and was making no noise at all, which worried everyone more than the noise.

They sat in their coats. Peter Lund had brought a thermos of hot chocolate. Dolores had brought cookies shaped like stars, left over from Christmas. Everyone had questions, and they all started at once.

"Dolores," said Marco. "The councillor. In November. You never told us."

Dolores sat down on a chair, which she almost never did in Room 4.

"I told you. He listened. He asked questions. He said he would think."

"What questions?" asked Grace.

Dolores hesitated. "Strange questions. Not about money. He asked if the radiator in Room 4 still made a knocking sound. He asked if the window by the door still didn't close properly in winter." She looked at the window by the door, which had a towel stuffed into the gap at the bottom, as it had for thirty years. "How does a councillor know about that window?"

Frank and Sasha looked at each other. Neither of them said anything about guitar lessons in 1981. It was not their story to tell. Not yet.