The hardest part was not knowing where to start.

“You’re either the most optimistic person I know,” Riley said with amusement, “or the most stubborn.”

I watched her, quiet, as she surveyed my work. She ran her hand gently along one of the red strings pinned into my board, following the frayed edges from one photo (Miles, Halloween, 2016) to the other (Honda Civic, Hartfield Bridge, 2020). I twi...