I was happiest alone as a boy. I had a bicycle and fields and small forest roads, and I could ride for hours without seeing anyone and feel completely full.

But I also loved being near people. Just not in them.

My mother's kitchen, when relatives came to visit. The adults around the table, the coffee, that particular hum of people being easy with each other. I sat in the other room and listened. Not to the words. To the warmth of it.