There was a pause.
Then Rebecca replied, “Okay. I’ll arrange something.”
No disappointment.
No pressure.
I spent the afternoon creating a bowl so crooked Linda called it “an architectural warning.”
I displayed it proudly.
Daniel struggled too.
He occasionally arrived without calling.
The third time, I made him stand on the patio while I finished a phone conversation.
“You’re serious about this boundaries thing,” he said afterward.
“Very.”
“Dad would have laughed.”
“Your father respected locked doors.”
“He also picked locks.”
“Only once.”
“Twice.”
We both smiled.
The business improved.
Not dramatically.
Gradually.
Marcus and Daniel landed two long-term clients.
Then another.
Daniel stopped asking whether I needed anything from Costco every three days.
He began calling to ask ordinary questions.
Had I watched the baseball game?
Did I remember the name of his fifth-grade teacher?
Would I like to come for dinner Sunday?
Come for dinner.
Not cook dinner.
