The Way He Listened

I had a very difficult period about fifteen years ago, the kind you do not talk about easily. I went to Solomon not because I had any particular plan but because I trusted him. He listened to the whole thing without interrupting, which took some time. Then he asked me one question — not a fixing question, a clarifying one — that unlocked something I had been unable to see. I have no idea how he knew to ask it. I think he was simply paying attention in a way most people are not.