That was the difference between generosity and a demand dressed up as family duty.

The apartment was small compared with the old house.

There were no sweeping stairs or marble counters.

But sunlight pooled across the floor in the morning, and the bedroom door shut without anyone shouting through it.

On the first evening, I heated a bowl of soup, fed Paisley, and sat in the rocking chair while rain tapped the window.

Lucas came by to drop off a blanket he’d washed after his parenting time.

He stopped at the threshold and looked around.