When the Eight-Year-Old Boy We Were Adopting Came Home With Everything He Owned in a Black Bag—Then My Missing Brother’s Watch Fell Onto His Bed

ours to protect however we choose.

Sometimes protection means letting a teenager put an irreplaceable family watch underneath dirty socks.

Terrifying.

Necessary.

I eventually had the mechanism serviced with Oliver’s permission.

The watchmaker looked at it.

“Beautiful piece.”

I almost told the story.