Like spontaneous

In Gaborone, Botswana, a gifted mechanic proposes to a just-turned detective a second time. He dreads she’ll change her mind. She stays on course and together, they buy a medium-prized ring. One afternoon, as the detective drives her little white van to investigate a case, the mechanic visits a nearby orphanage, and overcome with emotion, lifelong commits to two children, ages 12 (girl in wheelchair) and 5 (her brother). In Alexander M. Smith’s big-hearted Tears of the Giraffe, the detective embraces the siblings, another of the mechanic’s kindness-es. One paragraph later, she matter-of-factly brings them home.