Carmen remembers the burglary - and the tears that flowed at the last hockey game her husband ever got to watch their son play

I back up to this morning, just after Shoshana served my coffee to me. Carmen came in. I had hoped we might have a nice chat, but all sorts of people kept coming in – Amanda the hockey mom; Jay, my fellow pilot and lover of airplanes, Ollie Kent, Carmen's four-year-old neighbor who came with his mom; others whose names I do not know. Some of the talk was about the burglary, and how violated Carmen and Shoshana felt to have had someone smash his way into their space, and then snoop about doing whatever he wanted in there.

Here, Carmen describes a much more joyful moment, yet a moment ringed in a halo of deep sadness. It was Branson's final hockey game of the past season – for state championship - and the last his father would ever see him play. His father knew it, too.

Branson's team was one goal behind and the game was drawing to a close. With just seconds to go, little Branson knocked in the tying score. Tears flowed from his father's eyes – tears of joy, of pride, of gratitude; tears of sorrow and of longing for all those future games death would force him to miss. Tears flowed from the eyes of all of Branson's teammates and their parents. Only Branson did not cry. His father had taught him to be strong and he was going to be.

They lost the state championship in overtime, but this could not diminish that special moment Branson had given to his team, his mother and his dying father.

Shoshana returns to appear in another young writer study

Metro Cafe: study of the young writer, Shoshana, number 4238: Shoshana waits on a drive-through customer.

After our date, I am left feeling like I am in high school again

Following our big date to dinner and a movie, I dropped Margie off at the grandkids' house, gave her a kiss good night and drove home alone. It kind of felt like I was in high school again. Here I am almost home. There will be two cats waiting for me - a black one at the door, a calico who will show herself later.

The movie is over

We are about to leave the theater.

Out on a date

Margie and I are out on a rare date at one of Anchorage's most exclusive and elegant restaurants, Robin Rojo, as seen through a raspberry lemonade glass. Next, we go to a movie: Prisoners.