Eighteen Years After Ray Abandoned Him on a Dirt Road, Thomas Found His Mother’s Letter

“This one’s the worst of them,” I said.

“It catches on the sill.”

I tapped a wooden golf tee into each screw hole with a dab of wood glue, then set the new brass hinge and drove the screws in by hand.

The old latch had a quarter inch of play in it.

I filed the strike plate until the bolt dropped in without a push.

Diane set the lemonade on the railing and swallowed a small white pill with it.

“Ray’s check cleared Thursday,” she said.