The name stuck before he even let out his first cry. “Look at this little ginger!” Father laughed. Tufts of orange on their newborn’s head were both an anomaly and a temporary amusement.
They called him Red, and Red grew into the calling—chin high, jaw set, the kind of balance that begins in the shoulders and ends in the eyes. A trapeze artist learns early: pride is a blade you’d better hold by the handle.