Barcelona in early summer was warm and loud and exactly the right setting for Killian Carter.
We stayed four days. Elena had an apartment near the seafront, high ceilinged and full of plants, with a terrace that looked out over the city. She met us at the airport with the easy confidence of someone who had already decided she liked us, which I respected enormously.
Nora took to Elena immediately, reaching for her from my arms with the particular decisiveness she applied to people she approved of. James took a full day, assessed the situation at length, and then allowed Elena to hold him during dinner, which was James's equivalent of a standing ovation.
Killian was different in Barcelona. Looser than I had seen him in New York, even at his best moments. He moved through the city like som
