I thought of a man beneath an awning.

I thought of a waitress in a diner, a teacher with a yellow note, and a neighbor carrying stew upstairs.

Then I looked at my daughters and felt the old impulse to promise them everything would always be fine.

Instead I raised my glass and said, ‘To the next good thing we do for somebody.’

PART 21: A Winter Without an Emergency

One morning, close to the anniversary of my meeting with Walter, our boiler broke at the office.