(Cole)
Aaron arrived exactly when he said he would.
That was one of the things about him that had never changed. Not early, not late. Precisely when he said. I'd opened the front gate remotely and watched from the study window as the car pulled up and he stepped out with one bag over his shoulder like he was staying for a weekend not visiting for the first time in over a year.
I met him at the door.
He looked at me for a second without speaking.
Then he smiled.
"You look different," he said.
"You look the same."
"That's because I'm better adjusted."
I stepped aside and let him in.
He walked into the foyer and looked around the same way he always did in new spaces. Taking stock. Processing. Aaron had never been in this house before and I watched him move through the entry the way
