He listened.

The older woman did not seem interested in his surname or the buildings he owned.

She wanted him to remember which days the boys had appointments, whether he knew the number of their pediatrician, and if he would stay calm when one of them had a difficult afternoon.

‘I am learning all of that,’ he said.

‘Good. Keep learning.’

Over the following months, Preston became familiar with the unspectacular texture of parenting.

He learned the difference between the boys’ allergies and preferences, helped Naomi assemble a bag for an overnight visit, and discovered that a child could refuse socks for twenty minutes yet spend an hour carefully arranging toy animals.