But if this Abrams fellow was dying, too, I wanted to talk and listen and try to understand what it was like for him. Perhaps he had told his wife or partner and would be willing to share some crucial advice that might help me and, more importantly, help Hadley.

Anyway, this is how Jeremy came into our lives.

2.

Jeremy spotted me immediately as he exited the elevator, but did not seem nervous or put out.

“Did you forget something, Max?”

“No,” I said, looking to see if the doorman was out of earshot. “I actually wanted a word with you.”

“About Carol?”

“I wanted to say that if you ever feel like talking, then⁠—”

“Yes,” he said, cutting me off. “Do you have time now?”

I nodded. “We could walk in the park.”

When we got outside the wind stung our cheeks and burrowed into our clothes.We pulled up the collars on our jackets, then waited for a break in the traffic.

“Thank you for suggesting this,” Jeremy said as we crossed the four lanes of Central Park West. “There’s no one in my life who can relate to what I’m going through. Literally everyone in my family has their head in the sand.”

It turned out that Jeremy was not dying. His mother was.

He had never known his father and the extended family, younger sisters, nieces and nephews, all out in New Jersey, were not taking the news well. Jeremy had started seeing Carol to get ideas that would help them and his mother feel less afraid.

“What about you?” I asked. “How are you coping?”

He smiled as a squirrel darted out in front of us. “I was fine until I started seeing Carol.”

“Oh really?” I said, surprised that sessions with Carol could make someone feel worse.

“No, I mean the truth is that I was probably messed up and just hiding it really well⁠—from myself I mean. Now it’s all on the table, Max. I’ve even started talking about my absent father.”

After an hour of walking, I started to get tired. We were at the southern edge of the park, near the Plaza Hotel where there are benches and vendors selling food in paper napkins to tourists.

“This morning you were a complete stranger,” Jeremy said. “And now you know more about me than pretty much anyone.”

“You’re not married?”

“I was engaged, five years ago, to someone who worked at the United Nations. But she went back to Brussels and I couldn’t leave my mother, so I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

“Your mother is lucky to have you.”

“Normally I would have talked to her about all this. I hope I haven’t burdened you with my problems.”

“Not at all,” I said. “It’s a relief not to feel so alone. Especially since the worst is still to come.”

Jeremy put a hand on my shoulder.