"They weren't ready to share their feelings with other people, I guess.

Maybe they would have in time, if she had lived."

"She would be ftrrious if she heard the stories the kids at school are spreading!"

"You're right," Angie admitted.

"She would be right up there defending him," Ben put in. "That's why it's good that you're there. You can do it for her."

"I can't do much," Dougie muttered. ill defend him, but everyone jumps all over me."

"Are you feeling uncomfortable there?"

"All the time? No way. Just when people get going on this."

Angie was suddenly struck by his voice. It was lower than it had been.

She couldn't see signs of a beard, but that would come. He was growing up. "You really do like boarding, don't you," she said.

"It's neat."

"What if," she began, shot a look at Ben, then went on "What if we didn't live so close?

Would you be as comfortable?"

Dougie grew guarded. ill don't know. Why do you But Angie regretted having mentioned it. She should have waited until she and Ben had talked it out. She should have let Ben take the lead rather than doing it herself. She had barged in out of habit, assuming that what weighed heavily on her mind weighed as heavily on Ben's. She was orchestrating again.

She sent Ben a silent apology, but he didn't seem perturbed. Rather, he picked up the thread of her thought. "She asks because we've been thinking that I need to have more to do in a day. I finish my work early and then don't know what to do with myself. You're at Mount Court, and your mom is at the office, and I'm bored. So," he said, taking a breath, "there's a possibility that we may move closer to the city."

"What city?" Dougie asked warily.

"New York."

"But that's so far away!"

"Then," Ben went on, sounding perfectly content, "there's the possibility that we won't move."

He looked at Angie. "I talked with some folks at Dartmouth earlier today. They liked the idea of my teaching. They liked it a lot."

Angie brightened. "Did they? That's great!"

It s Just in the first stages of talk, but they knew who I was right away. They thought the students would, too. And you were right. I could go the route of either political science or art."

"Hanover isn't New York."

"No. It doesn't have gridlock."

"But I thought you wanted to hang around with the guys in the city room."

"This might be more interesting. Certainly more of a challenge.

Assuming it pans out."

!t will." She was confident of it. "You're too good for st not to."

He gave her a shrug and that tiny twist of his lips that curled her stomach. "At any rate, it seems like the thing to try first, before we pick up and relocate If it doesn't work, then we can think of the other, but moving is the most disruptive of the alternatives Your stakes here in Tucker are pretty high. It isn't fair to you to rush into anything that involves leaving."

Angie would have hugged him if they'd been alone. Then she caught herself, realized the foolishness of that thinking, and, rounding the table, circled his neck from behind Ben, You have a kind father, Dougie " she said b "You have a kind mother," Ben said, smiling.

"She was willing to give it all up here for me."

Dougie was looking confused. "Are you guys okay?" "Definitely," Angie said. "Hey, I have a great idea. Why don't we stop over at Peter's"

She cut herself off. She was orchestrating again.

Old habits died hard.

V y don't we stop over at Peter's," Ben finished so that he can personally assure you that he isn't a pervert, then we'll catch dinner at the Inn before we drop you back at school. Sound good?"

Peter wasn't at home. He was at Tucker General, on Three-B with Kate Ann. They were cleaning out the last of three Chinese food containerswith chopsticks, which Kate Ann had never used before but had gotten the knack of with surprising speed.

"You did good," Peter said with satisfaction.

She blushed. ill was hungry."

"That's because they're working you so hard."

He had the physical therapy department bending over backward for her, and while there wasn't any response in her legs the rest of her was learning to compensate. "But it s good for you, Kate Ann. You know that, don't you?"

She nodded. "I know it."

"Spoken with resignation." He touched her cheek. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded again, but in the next instant she shook her head. She looked suddenly smallerKate Ann had a way of shrinking when she was frightened and her voice followed suit. "They say I can go home soon."

"They're right."

"But my house isn't made for afor a" "It needs to be adapted. That's easy enough to do."

"But I can't afford it."

"We have a good lawyer working on the case."

"But even if he wins, it won't be for a while."