IT was years since the kids left home, but Paul hardly felt liberated. On days when his loss was keenest, he sought refuge in an old memory: a trip to New York when they’d woken to a dreamscape of snow settling by inches. As they anticipated the day, Paul went for bagels, first stopping across the street from where, through the falling snow, he could see Leanne and their pyjama-clad girls staring down at him from their apartment window. He raised his hand, they waved back deliriously, and joy stole up on him, warming him from the inside out.