When I sat across from him that morning and told him what had happened, he listened with the complete attention of someone taking inventory.
When I finished, he was quiet for a moment.
Then he said: your grandfather asked me to hold something for you. He said I would know when the time had come to give it to you.
He opened a drawer and produced a sealed envelope with my name on it in my grandfather’s handwriting.
Inside was a letter, three pages, and a key.