Sometimes I showed up for those afternoon walks in my work clothes, either coming straight from a morning assignment or getting ready to leave for a night in the newsroom. Other times Jamie showed up with a fresh set of stitches in his face. One afternoon he showed up to the beach without one of his crooked front teeth.

“Occupational hazard, huh?” I asked him. “Does it hurt?”

He reached up and his hand hovered over his mouth. “Like hell.”

“You’ve had it happen before, haven’t you?” 

“Yeah. Maybe it made me think about being a doctor, getting hurt all the time.”

“A doctor?” 

“My mom is,” he said. “Frankly, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to do that.”

“Wh...

Please subscribe to keep reading.