He obeyed her in a way he had never obeyed me.

Amanda sat on the floor and read him her school essay.

It was about a person who had changed her life.

She had chosen Clarence, describing how he showed her how to grow beans in a coffee tin and how he let her make mistakes without feeling foolish.

“You didn’t write about the trial?” he asked.

“That’s not the part I like,” she replied.

Clarence studied her face, then nodded.