He left before finishing his coffee.

I remained long enough to pay for my own meal.

When I stood, my legs felt surprisingly steady.

PART 8

On the last weekday of December, Claire called me from her car.

Her voice had the controlled sharpness of someone attempting to sound reasonable while furious.

Emma’s next tuition installment was approaching, she said, and the school expected payment in January.

“You wouldn’t take education away from your own grandchildren,” she told me.