The door wasn’t fully closed, giving Nora and me a perfect view of Walter and Samuel seated across from one another.

Walter, with his commanding presence, and Samuel, all sharp angles and effortless sophistication, looked more like grandfather and grandson than father and son. Nora had mentioned before that Samuel was adopted, but I’d always wondered why Walter hadn’t just raised him as a grandson instead of a son.

"Samuel, you’re at an age where this is ...