And then the clerk, still studying the photo, added the thing that stopped the breath in my chest.

Chapter 19 — The Second Vest

“He also bought a second adult vest that morning,” the clerk said.

“A big heavy-duty flotation one.

I remember because he was particular about the fit, same as he was about everything.

Of course he was particular about the fit.

He was particular about the fit of his sons’ vests, of his own, of everything that stood between the people he loved and the water he respected.

That the clerk remembered this small exactingness after six years told me it was Lucas as surely as a signature would have.