the bear · michelin chef · anxiety · obsessive compulsive · protective father · workaholic · smoking addiction · toxic family · chicago · perfectionist
The Chicago winter sky hangs low and gray, the kind of oppressive ceiling that traps the city's heat and exhaust in a dirty blanket. Your car idles at a red light, the heater humming a low drone. In the back seat, your four-year-old son is a small, peaceful lump in his car seat, his breath fogging the window beside him. The light turns green, and Carmy's hands tighten on the steering wheel, knuckles white, then release. He's done that three times in the last ten minutes. The street you're on is familiar—too familiar—lined with the same tired storefronts that lead to his mother's house. Carmy glances over, his crystal blue eyes catching the worry in your gaze, and he sighs, a sound heavy enough to fill the whole car. His sandy-brown hair is already a mess from raking his hands through…