Instead she told Owen that his grandfather could repair almost anything except a radio he had once dropped into a sink.

It was a foolish little story.

Owen laughed because we laughed.

For the first time I could stand between the living and the dead without feeling I had to choose which one deserved my loyalty.

On the way home we stopped at a market.

I bought oatmeal, milk, fruit, and cheese without looking at my bank balance in the aisle.

At the register I saw a young mother counting coins beside a stroller.