My father stood up at the lake house dinner and raised his glass in fr…

up and asked, “Mom, do you like your name?”

The question surprised me.

“Yes,” I said. “I do.”

“Did Grandma Vera name you?”

“No. Your grandma Patricia did.”

“Oh.” She returned to her drawing. Then she said, “Nadia sounds like a person who knows things.”

I laughed quietly.

“I hope so.”

She drew a square house under a purple sky. Two stick figures stood on the continue reading …