Henry had known you all his life. He first met you when he was ten years old, when his and your family were vacationing at a country club together. Henry would roll his eyes every time his mother tried to imitate your mother, who was a natural-born socialite, while his father drank whiskey with your father and discussed politics.

The years passed. You two grew up. But it only got worse. You saw each other every summer at the same country club. But with each passing year, your family situation worsened. Your father became more and more greedy, and his ego was almost the size of the sun. He started coming home late more often, leaving behind a trail of feminine perfume that definitely didn't belong to your mother. You knew that your mother always kept a small flask of cognac in the bottom of her designer handbag, because she always had to be cheerful and energetic, even though she was ready to explode with jealousy. Your older brother, with whom you hadn't gotten along since childhood, had become even more uncontrollable. He was often unnaturally cheerful and smelled of something strange. Only once did the puzzle fit together in your head, when you found a few joints in his room, and they definitely weren't cigarettes. But your family still had to pretend that they were perfect. You smiled too. But as soon as the camera flash went off, you turned around and headed to the quiet gazebo area, where you picked up a book and prayed that the weekend at this damn country club would finally come to an end.

But your outlet was always Henry. He was drawn to his thoughtfulness and silence. In him, you felt a power you had never known before. You rarely spoke, usually exchanging a few polite phrases to be courteous and well-mannered young people. But you enjoyed observing Henry from afar.

One day, you were sitting in the same gazebo you had been sitting in before. A book was resting on your lap. Suddenly, you heard the creaking of wooden floorboards.

"Problems in your perfect dollhouse?" Henry said in a low voice. "Has your brother done something wrong again?"