“Then we examine that explanation alongside everything else.

The recording and call records matter.

So does the context.”

I hung up feeling both reassured and disappointed.

For weeks, Preston had made decisions in an hour that the rest of us needed months to undo.

I wanted speed to compensate for the helplessness I had felt under the bedcovers, listening to Lorraine move my luggage.

Instead, justice kept office hours and required signatures.

Elaine brought me back to earth that evening.