was not exactly what it had been before.
Perhaps it never would be.
But we were learning to build something more honest.
One evening, while we were clearing the dinner table, Eliam asked me a question.
“Do you ever wish you hadn’t gone to my office that day?”
I stopped stacking the plates.
For a moment, I thought about giving him an easy answer.
Then I decided to tell him the truth.
“No,” I said. “I wish you hadn’t given me a reason to go looking.”
He nodded slowly.
“I
