He asked whether Winifred had been frightened during the thunderstorms the previous summer. I told him the truth. Twice, she had come into my kitchen wearing her robe, and we had played cards until the sky became quiet. She cheated both times. Gordon gave one rough laugh before covering his eyes. I didn’t comfort him, but I didn’t send him away either. Some grief doesn’t need to be fixed. Sometimes it only needs someone willing to sit beside it.

He didn’t repay anything that day, and I didn’t expect him to. Three weeks later, however, a cashier’s check arrived at the lawyer’s office for the entire $27,900. Attached was a short note: “I should have called on June 18 and stayed on the line.” Preston forwarded the money to the scholarship fund, exactly as Winifred’s will required. That was the first time Gordon seemed to understand what her letter had really been saying.