Vyacheskav “Slava” Gelman

Slava is a junior employee of the New York magazine “Century.” Believing it would help his writing, Slava separated himself from his family of Russian immigrants. He thought they were a bad influence on his writing. During the time he had asked his family not to call, Slava’s grandmother died. Even though he’d asked his family not to call him, his mother called to tell Slava that his grandmother was dead and that her funeral was planned for that day.

A pair of circumstances got Slava reconnected with his family. First, he felt guilty that he’d been out of touch with his family when his grandmother died. He’d visited her only one time in the past year. Second, Slava’s grandfather approached him with a letter he’d received in the mail a few days prior to tell Slava’s grandmother that...