NY-For twenty-five years, my stepfather broke his …

the acceptance letter in both hands and read it slowly, though I knew some of the formal language meant little to him. After a while, he folded it carefully and gave it back.

“Good,” he said.

That was all.

I was disappointed then. I wanted more. I wanted him to shout, to hug me, to say he was proud. But Hector’s deepest emotions often came disguised