He took another bite and leaned back in his chair.

I thought about all the practical skills I had wanted to teach him when I first became a dad.

I never imagined that one of the most important would be learning that dinner could be late and everyone would still be safe.

PART 11

By winter, the mortgage company had signed off on our repayment plan, and the letters from the lender quit showing up in thick, scary envelopes.

I kept every receipt in a binder marked HOUSE, with the dates written in big black letters.