I worried that leaving Beverly out might seem unkind.

Paige said she had invited her, but Beverly had declined because she did not want to sit at a table where she might have to hear good things about me.

“Then we’ll respect her choice,” Paige said.

Mr.

Alvarez arrived carrying an envelope of photographs.

They showed Walter much younger, perched on a ladder with a tool belt, laughing beside a bright yellow work truck.

Another showed him at a company picnic with Gordon, no more than seven years old, asleep on his shoulder.