She might once have had other aspirations, but her life had taken a decisive turn when she was seventeen. She had run away from home. For a while, she’d lived in her car. Even after she’d gotten on her feet—­found a job, a place to live—­she had struggled. For years, she had been both depressed and wild, self-­destructive. It wasn’t until Val met Liz in her mid-­twenties that everything changed. In the past five years, Val had gotten married, gotten her GED, had a baby. She’d reconciled with her grandmother—­now she and Liz took care of her and lived in her house. Val even saw her mom sometimes—­without her dad’s knowledge. He was the reason she’d left home in the first place. He was the kind of person who’d get drunk with his buddies and go out to the coop and shoot his own chickens. For fun. He also didn’t like gay people.