The Colonel and his wife never had children, for reasons unknown to me. His wife really loved them, and she told me point blank to get on with having ours. "They will be the closest thing I'll ever have to grandchildren. Just so you know, when they get old enough, they'll be summering with us as often as possible. Amanda is already on board with it, although she intends to take them to Kenya as many times as she can."

It moved me quite a bit, and on impulse, I hugged her. She was stiff at first, except for a kiss on the cheek, we had never touched. She finally...