My son rolled his eyes and laughed at our waiter with Down syndrome—so I taught him a lesson he’ll never forget.

“Really, it was the other way around.”

Leo looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

I glanced toward the window.

“When I was sixteen, your grandfather had just passed. You never got to meet him — you only know him from photos.”

I paused.

“After he died, I stopped talking much. Barely slept. Barely smiled. My friends didn’t know what to say, and most of them continue reading …