i tell you all of this so you can see what she put up with for all those years . there was a short silence and then the heavy tread of his boots as he headed for the door . not surprisingly , the seven-year-old was terrified of being left behind . the girl who lit him up from the inside out was sitting there beside him . then he lowered her ever so carefully . looking at me , he said , `` if you think i 'm going into that house for one minute , you 're crazy . '' 