He went to the river alone on a Saturday morning, which was not unusual.
What was unusual was that he told Sera specifically where he was going and why — not the administrative explanation, the actual one.
"I want to think about my mother," he said. "What you found at my foundation. I've been carrying it since you named it, and I think I need to do something with it, and I think the doing something requires the river."
She held his face for a moment — the gesture returned, her hands on his jaw the way his were usually on hers.
"Take your time," she said.
He took his time.
---
The river in November was different from the river in any other month — lower than summer, clearer, the stones visible in a way they weren't when the water ran fast. He stood at the bank for a while just lookin
