No one gasped.

No secret inheritance emerged.

But in the final hearing it helped explain why Mark’s collection of expensive things wasn’t the wealth he had imagined.

I learned then that facing an unpleasant number is sometimes the kindest thing you can do for your future self.

PART 11

The first major test of our new arrangement came on a Thursday afternoon when Tommy’s class held an assembly about local history.

Tommy had been chosen to read a paragraph about the old railway station, and he had practiced it at our kitchen table every night for a week.