The Softest Monster We Loved

How soft is my brother-in-law, Elliott Ward?

Let’s put it this way: if a home video on social media shows someone slipping on the ice, he will clutch a box of Kleenex and quietly weep through half an hour of television. He has never twisted open a jar of pasta sauce in his life—that duty belongs entirely to my sister, Evelyn. If a breeze picks up outside, he wraps himself in a wool scarf; before taking a single sip of water, he tests the rim of the glass with the tip of his finger to make sure it isn’t too hot.