Her hair is longer now, and fine lines bracket her mouth, parentheses around a lifetime of words I was not around to hear.

“I love the idea that a name might change based on who you are at a given moment…”

“My high school guidance counselor, Mrs. Inverholl, once had me take an aptitude…”

“How do you walk into someone's life again after twenty-eight years? How do you …”

“That’s what religion does. It points a finger. It causes wars. It breaks apart …”