We carried the lanterns into the living room.

There was no television, no internet connection, and no plausible reason for me to return to work.

We ate crackers with cheese and watched the rain run down the glass doors.

After a while Meredith asked me to tell her a story about my father that did not involve money or a business lesson.

I thought for a moment and remembered the time he tried to teach me to ride a bicycle.

He had loosened the seat without checking it, and I rode straight into a hedge.