One day, soon after we moved to the city, I was at home still unpacking cartons when the doorbell rang. I opened the door to a young woman about my age. “Welcome to the building!”, Celia said introducing herself. “I’m baking and believe it or not, I’ve just run out of sugar. May I borrow a cup?” I invited her in and over tea we discovered that Celia and my husband grew up in the same Queens neighborhood, and had...