Jesse stoked the fire and added two logs, bringing it to life. He didn’t put the metal screen back in front of the hearth, but maybe he should have. He sat down on the sofa with his coffee and a hardback copy of Marie Semple’s Today Will Be Different. Unable to read, he looked at the closed, bathroom door. Hot mist rolled out from under the door and wafted about the living room area. He sipped his coffee and placed his book aside.
Carr would stay for the next few days, four tops. Then he would take a flight to Texas to spend a week with his mother and aunt. After that, he was supposed to fly back to Ecuador, north of Quito, to help his Armistice Coalition team at a new village.
Jesse knew his friend’s visit would be short in Plimpton. Frankly, their entire adult relationship had been not
