Mine came on a studio floor five days in.

It kept its appointment.

I have always been good at that — at holding a steady surface over a great deal of moving water.

I did not yet know how useful that particular skill was about to become.

I could have confronted him that first night.

Plenty of people would have, and I don’t fault them for it; there is a clean justice in throwing the truth in a liar’s face the moment you hold it.