“Well, that bird might have an interesting front porch.”

Tessa laughed.

They backed out the screw together.

Later, while she painted the roof, Brian told me he hadn’t understood how closely she watched adults for signs of anger.

He said his therapist had asked him to think about what he’d learned as a boy when Harold went silent rather than shouting.

“Silence made me think something worse was coming,” he admitted.

“I think I passed that fear along without meaning to.”