Summary

Part One, “Flights,” Chapter Four: New York City, 1994. One day, while Deo is having a particularly difficult time with his upset digestive system, he delivers groceries to a house next to one of the churches he passes regularly. The person to whom he gives the groceries initiates a conversation in French, and Deo is so relieved to be able to actually talk with someone that he tells her much of his story, including describing his ongoing digestive issues. The woman, Sharon McKenna, immediately starts helping him in ways that Deo sometimes finds irritating, but is always grateful for.

First, Sharon takes him to a doctor, who does some tests that Deo, with his medical training, knew needed to be done. The tests prove that there is nothing in Deo’s digestive system that is making him ill; he is, it seems, reacting to stress...