As I strode toward the kitchen, Hendry gave them a lecture on pretty much the same thing I'd been thinking. That we were locked in our fears and distrustful of anyone new, no matter the excuses they told themselves.

"You can all do better," he said, his voice tight with anger.

He was right. We all could. Even me.

The kitchen was through the dining room, and I must've left all the cooks behind in the entryway because the space was empty. Several round, ...