“I particularly like that last phrase," Mom said. "About protecting your own happiness.”

“Madlen came to sit beside her on the bed. "Lady Queen," she said with her own particular brand of rough gentleness. "It is not the job of the child to protect her mother. It's the mother's job to protect the child. By allowing your mother to protect you, you gave her a gift. Do you understand me?”

“Mum calls you happy.” Emily giggled.“Huh? I don’t know your Mom…” “She says men like you are happy!”Garry stared at her, uncomprehending. He’d rarely felt less happy in his life.“She means gay,” Max said, and now there was a grin on his face.”

“Are you happy here?" I said at last.He considered this for a moment. "Not particularly," he said. "But you're not very happy where you are, either.”

“I love him," I said, but even to my own ears I didn't sound happy about it.”

“I could tell that Mom was dreaming, but I didn't want to know what she was dreaming about, because I had enough of my own nightmares, and if she had been dreaming something happy, I would have been angry at her for dreaming something happy.”