He would have asked whether the employees were being paid, whether I had a reliable lawyer, and whether I was eating properly.

He might also have told me, in the blunt way only a father can, that loving someone doesn’t require signing away your judgment.

When I left the cemetery, I stopped at a small café and ordered lunch.

I had nowhere urgent to be.

The company’s finances were on a stronger footing, the next payroll was planned, and the people I’d hired were capable of making decisions without calling me every ten minutes.

For a moment, having an ordinary afternoon felt like the greatest luxury in the world.