WHEN MY 59-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR KNOCKED AT MIDNIGHT, I THOUGHT I WAS FIXING A PIPE, BUT I WAS REALLY SAVING MY OWN LIFE…

on a sleeve near the antique turntable. Rain had not started yet, but the air at the windows felt swollen, as though the storm was still considering us.

“You’ve always seemed solid,” Caroline said after a while, not looking at me directly. “Quiet, but not unkind. I suppose that’s why I came.”

I stared down at the steam from my mug. No one had called continue reading …