“I moved around constantly when I was a kid,” he finally answers. “Stuff got stolen a lot.” “You moved around with your family?” “Foster care.” The words are clipped, gravelly. I soften. “Oh, I didn’t know that.” He takes a drink of his beer. “Most of the homes were overcrowded. Kids would be fighting for toys, for attention. It became easier not to have anything to fight over or get stolen from me. If that makes sense.” He gives his trademark shrug. “The neatness is a habit from those days too. We used to get in trouble if we didn’t keep the room clean.”
