I have made a pumpkin muffin with chocolate chips and a sweet cream-cheese middle. I have named it October's Last Kiss. November will have to manage.

Today's room begins in the kitchen, with a worn cutting board and a question about what to take along when life changes. Books, certainly. But also the man who still gets excited enough to name a muffin.

There is an unexpected call from a dear friend, a few small films of ordinary days, and the discovery that some brightness stayed where it could be found. A little time with affection, with judgment, and with the pleasure of being visibly glad.

And a question for you: will there be room for the things that make your face look like your own?

Come In. It's Already Warm., the keeper's book, arrives at Thanksgiving. Signed copies are at averylanemaxwell.com/come-in.

The letters, the books and the rest of the house: averylanemaxwell.com

Come in. There will always be a second cup.

Written and told by Avery Lane Maxwell. Come In. · Stories from a Keeper. Galena House Audio.

Pull up a chair. Take the one by the window.

The first snow in Frisco can't decide whether it's staying, and three things are waiting for you in this room: a table somebody else set, a little blue bowl that is going to stay exactly where it is, and one sentence from a notebook that might be worth more to you than anything else you hear today.

This one is for the keepers: the ones who remember the sugar, visit the radiator, and set the table for everyone else. It's about the difference between making a lovely life and being in it, about doors opening, and about what happens when, for once, someone else gets there first.

Keep a lamp near you. You'll be asked to turn it on.

Come In. It's Already Warm., the keeper's book, arrives at Thanksgiving. Signed copies are at averylanemaxwell.com/come-in.

The letters, the books and the rest of the house: averylanemaxwell.com

Written and read by Avery Lane Maxwell. Scored by the house. The paintings behind it were made from his own photographs of Summit County.

STILL HERE

No. 3 of 5
KEEPING SEPTEMBER COMPANY

The aspens are louder than they look. Elias walks the creek as the valley turns gold and finds one green leaf that will not hurry, and August asks what it would mean to keep something company instead of keeping it. Green in front, gold behind. Both.

Still Here. is five readings from the house: Elias, read aloud by Avery Lane Maxwell. Every episode, and the films: averylanemaxwell.com/podcast · the letters: averylanemaxwell.com/letters

♫ The Lamp On, the music under these readings: averylanemaxwell.com/the-lamp-on

The book: Still Here., the first in Come In., with its audiobook and album, out 1 November: averylanemaxwell.com/still-here

A note from the house: this is a personal podcast. Avery tells these stories as he remembers and understands them, from his own life and perspective. When other people wander into them, he protects what belongs to them.