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feel like I’ve met you before.”
                  “Maybe I have one of those faces,” I said but I knew exactly what he meant because I was feeling the same thing. There was something recognizable but I was absolutely positive I’d never met him before. I just couldn’t shake the feeling. He was comfortable, like meeting up with an old friend after a prolonged absence.
                  “Have you lived here all your life?” he asked. Pulling his phone from his pocket, he studied it as if he didn’t really want the answer to the question he’d just asked.
                  “I was born in Ireland,” I said. “But I don’t remember it. We moved here when I was a baby.”
                  “Ireland?” He nodded as if what I’d said made some sort of perfect sense to him. When he glanced up again he must have noticed the look on my face because he tried to explain himself. “You look Irish.”
                  “Um, thanks.”
                  The lights in the shop flickered as a second power surge occurred. We both glanced at the window at the same time.
                  “That’s some storm,” I said, aware that I was beginning to babble. “I hope nothing gets knocked out. No power this time of year is nasty.”
                  The door opened and Dad came out with Kian’s father right behind him. They were both deep in conversation and didn’t even look towards us. Dad was talking about cars as usual.
                  “I don’t think we’re going to be able to fix your Toyota,” he said as he trampled fresh prints in the snow. “Tomorrow morning I can take you over to Barry’s car shop. Might be able to get you a good deal on a used car. I’m sure your insurance will help you.”
                  “Thank you.”
                  The man looked at me and then Kian. There seemed to be some sort of silent communication between them. It was creepy and I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Dad watched them both carefully, a small frown formed on his face. 
                  “You can fill out the rest of the forms later and bring them back tomorrow, Mr. Gallant,” he said.“But you’ll have to forgive me. It’s late and my daughter and I are expected back at home for dinner. Hopefully we can get there before the power goes out. It’s going to be one hell of a storm.”
                  “Of course,” he said. “And call me Micah.”
                  “Come on, Dad ,” Kian said. There was no mistaking the sarcasm in his voice. Micah raised an eyebrow in response.
                  There was something definitely fishy about these two. I glanced over at Dad but he wasn’t paying attention. He jiggled the keys in his hand, obviously thinking about the meatloaf dinner Marley probably had waiting for us at home.
                  Besides, my curiosity wasn’t going to get the better of me. It wasn’t like I was ever going to see the two of them again. Tomorrow morning they’d get themselves a new car and head off to whatever was waiting for them.

Two
                 
                  Back at home, Marley had dinner on the table. Chilli instead of meatloaf. Not much of a difference. Almost all of her cooking tasted pretty much the same.
                  Marley was Dad’s long time girlfriend. She also worked at the shop with Dad and me. They’d been together for eight years, since I was a small kid. But yet I didn’t call her Mom or anything like that. She just wasn’t the type of person you call that. My real mother died in a car accident when I was a baby and I never knew her.
                  I went upstairs to drop my backpack off in my room and found Granny sitting on my bed in the dark. She was wearing headphones and rocking back and forth to what sounded like