I asked him, “I’ve been away for so long, and you only reach out to me when you need something. No one else has ever cared about me.”

“Why should I go back?”

“Alison, let me tell you, you will never escape from me for the rest of your life.”

Those days, Baltimore was drenched in heavy rain as I rushed home, clutching a stack of papers. The streets were nearly deserted, with most people hurrying to get home.

Only he stood beneath a streetlamp, wearing a raincoat. I couldn’t see his expression clearly, and there was no time to ponder why he seemed so strange. I hurried forward, tears...