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

” a phrase she used with enough relish to make it useless as an insult. Eventually we stopped noticing. Or maybe we simply learned that a life built from honest mornings and chosen company does not leave much room for spectators.

Sometimes Caroline would reach across the breakfast table and touch my fingers lightly, the same way she had on that rainy continue reading …