STUDY we took the measure of our house every generation a scandal every marriage a gesture of self-defense against the marriage before and each face pocked and scarred from intimate collisions but all of us willing to go anywhere do anything to keep family together no matter what position they have to creep into under the house with its dimensions fixed for centuries its cellar subtle dark possibly circular possibly immeasurable definitely cool home to minor forms of life we guess at from signs they leave for us to count