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"May I come in?" asked Dr. Jacoby, cracking open the bedroom door and carefully peering inside.

"Yes," said Abby, as Izumi excused herself so the two could speak in private.

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked the psychiatrist.

"What's there to talk about?" asked Abby. "The animals who did this to Jake, or the pervert who sank his nails into Jake's leg?"

"It took a lot of courage to show you that file," he pointed out.

"Why did he have to show me this?" wondered Abby. "Is it because he blames himself for what happened?"

"When someone is abused," explained the doctor, "there is often a lot of guilt associated with the event. With victims such as Jake, their molesters often tell them things like, 'you really wanted it,' or accusations of that nature. Over time, they begin to believe it. Remember, Jake was four years old when his father first raped him. That's a lifetime of brainwashing to overcome."

"I'm just so angry!" exclaimed Abby.

"The next time you see Jake," said Dr. Jacoby, "be sure that he understands that it's not him you are angry at, but the abusers. And one other thing," he added, "remember this verse: 'Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.' Anger is a perfectly normal and just reaction to what you've just seen. But, don't let it consume you. Before you go to sleep tonight, let that anger go. God knows it's not healthy for us to keep that wrath inside of us overnight."

Abby slowly gathered the pages and photos and placed them back inside the folder.

"I'm going to return this to Jake," she said, getting up from the bed.

The living room went silent as Abby walked through the room, carrying the blue folder. Then, they watched her cross the way to the little yellow house.

"Jake!" called Abby, as she knocked on his door.

When there was no answer, Abby turned the handle and went inside. It was early evening, and the sun was just beginning to set in the western sky, shining a golden ray of sunset through the open window of the kitchen.

"Jake, where are you?" asked Abby, first searching the living room and then the kitchen.

She at last found him in his bedroom, sitting on the floor on the far side of the room, smoking a cigarette. He couldn't bring himself to look at her as she entered the room. In that moment of silence, she could feel the question coming.

"Don't ask me that," warned Abby, knowing full well what he was thinking.

Jake flashed his brown eyes at her and then stared back at the floor.

"Go ahead," he challenged her, "tell me it doesn't change anything."

"What's it supposed to change, Jake?" asked Abby, tossing the folder onto his lap. "Is it supposed to change the past? I'd change it for you, if I could, but I can't. All that's left is the present and the future. Those I can change, if you'll let me."

Exhausted from the emotional strain of the day, Jake buried his head and wept for joy. His shoulders shuddered with each sob, while Abby quietly watched from a distance. She had already shed her tears, and was determined to not show weakness in Jake's presence.

Abby looked through Jake's window and opened it, letting the cool breeze fill the room, while the lulling sound of the waves on the beach calmed his soul.

"What do you say, Jake?" asked Abby. "Does the partnership of Murphy and Johannes get your vote? What am I saying?" laughed Abby, suddenly remembering that she would lose her maiden name. "It would be Murphy and Murphy! Are we partners?"

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