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to get Sam and her dog food and pick up some clothes and your toothbrush.”
    “But how did you know I had a dog named Sam?”
    “You told me.”
    “I did? When?”
    “When you were talking in your sleep on the drive from the hospital.”
    Ellis hesitated before replying. “Uh-oh,” she said quietly.
    “Pardon?”
    Ellis squirmed. “I’ve been told that I sometimes say some stupid things when I talk in my sleep.”
    “Is that so? Told by whom?” Mary leaned forward in her seat.
    “Never mind. That’s a topic for another time.” Ellis reached down and massaged her right leg just above the knee.
    “I’ll remember that and hold you to it. Does your upper leg hurt?”
    “A little. I don’t suppose bouncing it along LaVista Road did it any favors.”
    “You’re right about that. My Xterra would probably say the same thing.”
    Ellis slapped herself lightly on the cheek. “That’s something else I forgot all about—your SUV got hit because of me.”
    “Not exactly. It got hit because I was trying to do two things at once, one of which was looking backwards and the other of which was driving forwards.”
    “How bad is the damage?”
    “Not too bad, as best I could tell, but I only got a quick look while the other driver and I were exchanging information. His Crown Vic looked a lot worse than my lichen wagon.”
    “Your lichen wagon?”
    “Yeah, the old Moss mobile.”
    “Inherited your dad’s penchant for puns, I see. Good thing you picked a green vehicle.”
    “Wouldn’t have mattered. I’d have come up with an appropriate name no matter what color it was.”
    “I believe it.” Ellis grinned wryly. “Sorry about the wreck. I’ll be glad to take a look at it in the morning to see if I can tell if the frame is bent.”
    “It’s still on the pull-off at the house on LaVista where I parked it after the accident.”
    “We need to go get it.” Ellis reached for her crutches.
    “Right. You can drive left-footed while you drape your cast over the center console. And then in the morning, you can hang upside down one-handed from the roof rack to check the frame. That should work out nicely.”
    “Oh yeah. I keep forgetting I’m damaged goods.”
    “Damaged goods is an overstatement. You’re just temporarily incapacitated, Gretchen.”
    “I bet I haven’t heard anyone call me by my real name in six months, and now that’s twice today you’ve called me Gretchen.” Ellis cleared her throat dramatically. “Since we’re on the subject of names, about Nathan…” She looked sternly at Mary. “Even though I may not always act like it, I am more than nine years old, and I’m not going to let you get away with the quick-switch ploy you pulled on your daughter to change the subject.”
    “I haven’t done any fancy footwork to avoid telling you about Nathan. I’ve simply been answering other questions as you asked them. What do you want to know?”
    Before Ellis could speak, the back door flew open and Natalie and Sam bounded into the kitchen.
    Natalie shouted, “Can we get a dog, Mom? Sam’s lots better at bringing stuff back than Swiffer is.” Sam raced to the sofa and flopped her head on Ellis’s chest. Natalie was a pace or two behind the dog.
    “Go close the door, Natalie, and turn off the outside lights.”
    “All right.” Natalie did as her mother directed, then returned to the living room. “Can Sam sleep in my room tonight?”
    “Sam probably should sleep with Ellis tonight.”
    “How come?”
    “Because it’s their first night here, and we don’t want Sam to be afraid because she’s in a strange house.”
    “Would she be afraid, Ellis?”
    The same light that Ellis had noticed in Mary’s eyes on more than one occasion danced in the bluest part of Natalie’s eyes as she regarded Ellis, waiting for her reply. “I don’t know. Sam has never slept anywhere other than at my apartment.” Sam lifted her head from Ellis’s chest, rocked back on her haunches, and sat on the