The yellow pad stayed on the table between my half-finished coffee and the porcelain sugar bowl.

I got up, went into the back bedroom and lifted my brown leather suitcase down from the top shelf of the closet.

I unzipped the main compartment and spread the empty suitcase open on the bedspread.

From the mahogany dresser drawers I took three clean shirts, two pairs of wool trousers and my daily blood pressure pills.

I reached into the side drawer and took out the little velvet box that held Evelyn’s reading glasses.

My fingers were stiff as I took out my handkerchief and polished the thin wire frames until the lenses were clear.