“You mean the Winkles are gone?” Dr. Larch asked. “Swept away,” said Homer Wells. “Whoosh!” That was when Wilbur Larch gave up on finding Homer Wells a home. That was when Dr. Larch said that Homer could stay at St. Cloud’s for as long as Homer felt he belonged there. That was when St. Larch said, “Well, then, Homer, I expect you to be of use.” For Homer Wells, this was easy. Of use, he felt, was all that an orphan was born to be.
