Back at the shack, I made a fire in the fireplace, then set the little wooden horse up on the mantle, and smiled, thinking of the larger one that sat on the mantle in my Chicago apartment.

Then I busied myself with more cleaning. I’d lost my appetite and had nothing else to do. Well, other than sort through the boxes. But I couldn’t bring myself to face them yet. One can only handle so much heartache in one day.

I worked well into the night, knowing it would be ...