* * * * * the moment deb turned the sign on the door of her shop to closed , she started sobbing . she thought she felt fur , but she could n't hold on . each heartbeat in her chest felt like hours while she slapped branches back from her face and leaped over logs and holes . she reached up and laid her palm against the side of his face . in many of them his father mentioned the swims he had taken in the morning in a nearby river or beach . 