Evelyn moved into the house three doors down about six months after Garrett left.

She introduced herself with a plate of lemon cookies and the announcement that she had a daughter named Brenda and a granddaughter who lived out of town.

She asked whether I needed help bringing in my grocery bags.

At first she felt like a gift.

If I ran late at work, she sometimes waited with Liam on her porch after his bus arrived.

At Christmas she brought us a small tin of shortbread.