M. Gessen

He knows that people do terrible things, and that this can include the people one loves.

I've never known him to say that something is unforgivable, outside of war and genocide anyway.

What would it take for them to return to the family?

The problem is, I think Alan believes that he can't ever admit that he tried to have Priscilla killed.

Because if he does, his kids won't have anything to do with him.

My father, for his part, has assumed the role of the kid's grandfather.

That's what they call him, too.

And he's a fiercely protective grandfather.

He has no patience for Alan's dilemma.

So, what role do you think he should have in the kids' lives?

None at all.

As far as my father is concerned, Alan, who took out a hit on his ex-wife, and Lena, who keeps insisting that he didn't, are off the island.

Or at least the Cape Cod Peninsula.

He hasn't seen either of them in almost four years.

He didn't want to talk about the pain of losing his sister.

That chapter is closed.

But even this kind of closure is a kind of luxury.

A luxury that Priscilla doesn't have.

This winter, O came to visit my family for a week over the holidays.

I brought him back in the early days of January.