It was New Year's Eve, and we were heading up into South Carolina to Hilton Head. We took our time, enjoying the three-hour ride on the back roads instead of the freeway. We had lunch at a pizza place, then spent most of the afternoon exploring the beaches before meeting for dinner at a barbecue joint. We spent an hour there, eating way too much in the way of ribs and drinking too much lite beer. "I have to use the restroom," I said.

"Me too," Teri said. I got up, leaning down to kiss Snake and licking the tangy sauce off the corner of his mouth. We worked our...