I could tell that I said the wrong thing. You know that feeling, right, when it seems like you can’t go back to the way things were before you stick your foot in your mouth? Charlie was looking at me like I had really just punched her in the stomach, like she kind of hated me for being me, like she genuinely belied I was a fool.

But I had said it. I had brought up the subject of YOU, and Charlie wasn’t ready to go there. She just stood there holding my binoculars, staring at me like I was scum. And then she held out the binoculars to hand them back. And then she let them drop to the ground while staring directly in my eyes. She only said, “Drop the charade, Sam.”