Summer Vacation With Stepgrandad
Both of us were married before, both widowed. We had lived with our departed spouses in the same Chicago high rise condominium. As couples we had been casually acquainted, seeing each other occasionally in the parking garage, the building lobby, or in summer, on the rooftop swimming pool deck. When my wife was killed in an auto accident, our children were all grown and graduated from college. My son had moved to the west coast, and my daughter had taken a job in Paris teaching English to French high school students. When Francine’s husband died after a stroke, Francine sold their three bedroom unit, and bought a one bedroom on a higher floor. Francine posted a note on the lobby bulletin board, looking for help moving her belongings up the freight elevator to her new, …