When the old keeper forgot one latch, the 400-pound silverback reached through the steel

drawer, the counter, the towel in his hand.

Linda moved before I could. She picked up the thermos, unscrewed it, and set it gently beside the sink.

“You were rinsing this,” she said.

Tom’s shoulders stiffened. “I knew that.”

“I know.”

“Don’t do that.”

Linda looked down at her hands. “Do what?”

“Talk to me like I’m already gone.”

The room seemed to shrink around continue reading …