“He’s sitting in the armchair reading his big book,” Sadie said.

“You wait right here two minutes while I trade this plate for my tin, sweetheart,” Mary said, leading Sadie gently by the hand into her warm front hall.

I leaned back against the sturdy porch railing and felt the cool evening air settle on my face.

The driveway below me was completely clear, scraped right down to the dark asphalt by my father’s heavy iron shovel before noon.

There were no stray footprints by the garage doors, just the deep, clean treads of his heavy Ford truck parked in the bay.