I sensed some tension between them, like when Rosie had suggested going through the boxes on my last visit. ‘It’s okay, I can just go outside.’

Before I turned toward the front door, I noticed my uncle hesitate and then he said, ‘It’s too hot outside. You can use my office. Head out the kitchen and take a left down the hallway and you’ll see a set of glass French doors on the right.’

I gave him a close lipped smile and said it wouldn’t take long. Cris stood and opened the sliding door to the backyard for Harley while I walked to his office. The call had already ended since I hadn’t picked it up in time, so I called Rob back after closing the doors behind me. Pacing around the room, I listened to him complain about not getting the access he needed for some of the photos I had requested. I promised I would contact the organizer and work it out. After two calls to my various contacts I was able to get ahold of the right person and work out the issue, ensuring he would be permitted to take photographs backstage in addition to the press section in front of the stage and crowd shots.

Normally I would have gone to the festival in person to resolve these issues on the spot, but it was hotter than usual in Manhattan for the end of September, and I wasn’t as into the bands selected this year as I usually was. Getting scorched by the sun while thousands of people crammed together on the lawn didn’t seem very appealing this time around. Instead, I’d opted to cover the art exhibit in Connecticut so I could see Cris and Rosie, especially once I found out that Cris would be home on the weekend. I knew my photographer would get good enough coverage without me hovering over his shoulder and I was glad I could resolve the access issue by phone.

I dropped into Cris’s office chair with a sigh of relief and looked around. His desk was so spotless it shone like it’d been dusted that morning, a faint hint of Lemon Pledge lingering in the air. His computer keyboard was lined up precisely in the center of his monitor. On the desk were not one but three pen holders. Each one had a handful of pens in matching tones. One cup had red pens, another had blue and the third had all black.