PART 9

Those two years were the slowest and most consequential of my life.

They were marked not by milestones photographers would have recognized, but by tasks written on a magnetized calendar in Lauren’s kitchen.

Tuesday: collect library books.

Thursday: orthodontist consultation.

Saturday: Mason’s practice, if the weather held.

I kept duplicates on my phone and checked them every morning, even when I was traveling for work.

I had once been proud of remembering an investor’s preferences after a five-minute meeting.