He sent June a brief note asking whether he might attend the public school art fair, and June replied that he could come as long as he understood he was a guest.

He arrived with no entourage.

His driver waited around the corner.

Inside the gymnasium, paper stars hung from fishing line, and children ran between tables clutching glitter-covered projects.

Sophie spotted him immediately.

“You came!”

“I said I would.”

“Actually, you said you’d try,” she corrected.