Loretta sat back down slowly and asked to see Benji. He was curled on the couch with his blanket, cheeks flushed. She knelt beside him, and her eyes filled with tears. She apologized to him, then to me, and finally admitted that she had grown up with a mother who mocked anyone who cared about germs. She had simply never questioned it. Evan hugged her, and so did I.

Benji recovered in four days. Loretta spent the rest of her stay using clean spoons, serving food onto her own plate, and even reminding Evan to wash his hands. When she moved into her condo, she gave me a gift bag. Inside was a set of brightly colored serving spoons, each with a label in her handwriting. For Grandma only. She calls me before every visit now to ask what she can bring. Benji still thinks those spoons are the funniest thing in our kitchen.