Vanessa looked up at her. “One day soon, I’m hoping to strap myself to a rocket and bounce out of the atmosphere. I’m not going to be able to take care of a dog.”

“Oh,” Joan said. “Okay. But couldn’t you just get a dog sitter when you go on a mission?”

“I’m not going to put a dog through that. I’ll just come over here and pet Apollo,” Vanessa said and then rubbed his back and gave him a good pat.

“Vanessa!” Steve called from the side yard. “We need you! Antonio’s Dodge is stalled.”

Vanessa raised her eyebrows. “Come on, boy,” she said. And then she smiled at Joan. “Bye, Jo.”

Joan laughed as they walked away. She could leave now. But instead, she sat on the rough concrete, pulled her long skirt up to her knees, and put her feet in the pool. It was so warm, it felt like stepping into a bath.

She watched as Lydia floated by her with her eyes closed, hogging the only pool float. Lydia had refused to share with anyone enough times that no one asked anymore.

Griff swam up to Joan. “I have obtained very important, very confidential insider information,” he said as he pushed his hair back off his face. “And if you play your cards right, I will read you in.”

Joan looked at him. She’d long ago noticed he was objectively handsome. But she could see now that he’d probably had to grow into his features. And she wondered if that had made him an ugly duckling. She loved ugly ducklings.

“Lay it on me,” Joan said. Maybe she had a bit of a buzz. She must have.

“Do you know Duke’s real name?”

“I did suspect it wasn’t Duke.”

“It’s Chris,” Griff said. The pool lights had kicked on a few moments ago, just as the sun was setting. Griff’s smile was lit from below.

“Oh, wow,” Joan said.

“Yeah, so they are Chris and Kris,” Griff said, pulling closer to the pool’s edge, hovering close to her.

“So he let her be Kris,” Joan said. “And he took on a nickname. That is…that is very touching.” She looked up at Duke and Kris, standing by the sliding glass doors with Steve’s wife, Helene.

It was obvious how well Duke and Kris fit together. Duke was quiet and strong. Kris was small and spirited, with big hair. Duke told the stories and Kris hit the punch lines.

“No, she knew what she was doing,” Duke was saying, with a smile.

“Oh, I absolutely did!” Kris added.

Helene laughed.