I turned toward Grace before the moment could become another conversation about our marriage.

There was a time when I would have felt cruel leaving him standing there.

Now I understood that a boundary did not have to be cruel to be firm.

That afternoon Noah came home with a paper crown from school.

He wore it crookedly while eating apple slices.

He told me he had played a tree in a classroom skit and forgotten one line.

“Did everyone laugh?” I asked.