I was keeping records, appointments, and the protective boundaries that mattered to us.

I was not keeping every obligation the Miller family had once handed me.

That difference made the apartment feel larger than its three rooms.

EPILOGUE — Our Door

Clara brought the last carton on a rainy afternoon.

I had agreed to that delivery the day before.

She rang the bell and waited on the landing instead of asking the landlord to let her into my home by calling herself my sister.

The cardboard flap was damp.