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gentleman who gave you his business card—”
    “Oh, Mom.” She shook her head. “Will you stop talking about that? I know you told Marcy all about it, too. Look, he’s probably moved on to some other charity case by now. Just because he’s rich, it doesn’t mean he’s sane.” She picked up the juice bottle and started toward the stairs. “Trust me, he’s gotta be crazy to come all the way out here like he did. Remember that movie we saw about that girl who fell in love with that oil tycoon and he was psycho and killed her whole family?”
    “That was a Lifetime movie. It wasn’t real.”
    “Oh, I’m pretty sure it was based on actual events.” Cara knew it was a stretch but she had grown tired of her mom’s nagging. “Think about it. A guy like that could ruin our lives. He might be a total nut job.”
    “Sure, he might be. Or he might not be. Seemed like a nice guy as far as I could tell. Very down to Earth. And he loved my cooking.”
    Cara sighed as she walked upstairs. “Everyone loves your cooking. Especially psychos.”
    “I don’t care what you say. If you don’t call him, I will.”
    Cara shook her head. As she approached Isaac’s room, she thought she heard him talking aloud, maybe to the television. But her mouth dropped open when she saw him laughing with her cell phone to his ear.
    “Uh-huh,” Isaac said into the phone, laughing hysterically. “Cwoaky fwog.”
    Cara ran across the room. “Who are you talking to?”
    He put both hands on the phone, holding it like he didn’t want to let it go. “Bictow.”
    “Big toe?” Cara snatched the phone and brought it to her ear. “Who’s this?”
    A man laughed. “ Big toe .” He laughed some more. “ I mean, Victor .” He cleared his throat. “ Victor Barboza .”
    Her eyes and mouth both dropped open. She stared at Patty as she rushed to the hallway for privacy. She stumbled over her words, nervous. “Um…um…my son isn’t supposed to be using my cell phone. I’m sorry.”
    “Don’t be sorry. I’m the one who called him. Smart little guy .” Victor paused. “ So, I hear you might be in need of new employment .”
    Oh Lord, he really is psycho , she thought. How did he know that already? Had he planted a microphone in the house? “Uh…I don’t know what to say.”
    “ Say you’ll come to my office to interview for a position. It’s in public relations. We could use someone with your experience .”
    “How do you know anything about my experience?”
    “ Found your resume online .”
    “Oh.”
    “ Says here you ran some national projects. Very impressive. Too bad the company’s doing so poorly or they’d probably rehire you. Anyway, be here this afternoon. Two o’clock. I’ll email you with directions .”
    “Well, uh…sure, I guess.”
    “ Good. See you then .” Victor hung up.
    Perplexed, Cara stared down at the phone in her hand. “How did he get my number?” In a huff, she walked into Isaac’s room where her mom was watching him drink juice, a big smile plastered across her face. “Mother, dear,” Cara often used this term for her mother when she was upset, “do you know how Mr. Barboza got my phone number? Because it sure wasn’t from me.”
    Patty set her smile on Isaac as she said in a singsong tone, “I don’t know, I may have given it to him when he stopped by a few days ago.”
    “Mom!”
    “What? He asked for it. And he was so polite.”
    Cara paced the floor. “Well, he already found out, somehow, that I lost my job.”
    Patty’s eyes met Cara’s. “What?”
    “Yeah. How did he know that? I didn’t put my new phone number or Doyle Construction on my online resume. He wants me to interview for a job at two o’clock today.” She lowered her voice and leaned in closer, covering most of her mouth so Isaac couldn’t see. She whispered, “ Psycho !”
    Patty’s lips formed a thin line. She spoke quietly, her mouth barely moving, “You need a job, don’t you?”
    “Yeah, but not