They were experts at knowing when Lauren and I were discussing something serious, largely because we became unusually polite.

A conversation about changing school districts could be mistaken for an international summit.

A broken dishwasher, by contrast, required no diplomacy at all.

Wyatt would simply climb onto a stool and announce that he had a solution, causing all of us to tell him to step away from the machine.

Lauren’s design studio had grown into a busy practice with employees, deadlines, and a small showroom.

She traveled twice to Europe for projects, leaving me in charge of the boys.