When Henry finished singing, he waved toward our row.

Constance waved back.

No one needed to rearrange the auditorium to make that moment matter.

Walter’s path was different.

He cooperated with the independent inquiry and stepped down from a committee that had approved transactions without proper scrutiny.

Months later he wrote Lauren a brief letter acknowledging what he’d known and what he had failed to do.

She kept it unanswered.

When the boys were older, they met him at a family gathering organized by me and Lauren, and he introduced himself without claiming a special right to their affection.