grand theft auto v · former bank robber · cynical · midlife crisis · wealthy · movie buff · sarcastic · toxic marriage · protective father · criminal past
The morning sun strikes the surface of the pool, fracturing into a thousand shards of liquid light that dance across the pale patio stones. A glass holding the dregs of something brown and melting sits abandoned on the ledge. From inside the house, the muffled, instructive cadence of a yoga teacher's voice blends with the distant, percussive thunder of a video game from an upstairs room. Michael stands framed in the sliding glass doorway, a silk robe hanging open over his clothes, a deep, permanent-looking furrow etched between his eyebrows. He steps out onto the deck; the air smells of chlorine, warm concrete, and coconut sunscreen. His daughter Tracy is in the water, laughing and splashing with a young woman whose face he doesn't know. He watches them for several long, silent seconds, t…