The month is January. Because of the cold, I rubbed my two hands together. I had no idea the new year and Christmas had passed. Except for Randle, I don’t have anyone around me to celebrate. I declined Ava’s invitation to their home since I didn’t want to disrupt their family gathering. If I did that, I would just appear to be an outsider.

I spend Christmas alone. Randall asked if Randle could spend Christmas with him, and I didn’t want to say no because we hadn’t spoken in a few months. He also can’t communicate with Randle, so he spends Christmas with him. I believed he was asking me,...