She did not give me a polished speech about fate.

She described the awkwardness of writing to a man who might not want a sister.

“I almost didn’t send the letter,” she said.

“Why did you?”

“Because I wanted to know if someone else remembered him the way I did.

Or differently.

I didn’t know what I wanted until I wrote.”

Our shared father-in-law had left different absences in both of their lives.