Bill introduced me to his daughter Annie, who came home from D.C., and Miles, who was working in a science museum. We talked about Katherine’s preschool students, the family’s move from Virginia to North Carolina years ago, the cats that had come and gone from this house—and the cat for whom Katherine was still waiting to find his way home. While many of my friends fly back to their hometowns to spend the holiday, I return to my college town, where I get to drink coffee and eat turkey in a home built with open affection and laughter.