“It doesn’t have dust on it. I practiced for two hours this morning.”

“I heard that practice. You were playing ‘Row, Row, Row your Boat.’ ”

Kate turned her attention to the window. “Elsie, you ever notice there aren’t any kids in this neighborhood?”

“Yeah. Spooky, isn’t it? It’s a lot like being in the old people’s home, except this here’s midlife heaven.”

“What do you suppose would happen if someone got pregnant on this street? Think everyone else would get up a petition to make her move away?”

Elsie gathered empty glasses and soda cans and carted them off to the kitchen. “Nobody’s gonna get pregnant in this neighborhood. Nobody has time. Everybody’s too busy making money and eating bean sprouts.”

“Dave isn’t too busy.”

“Dave can’t get pregnant.”

Kate continued to stare out the window. “No, but I could.”

“The hell you could. You’re not married. Have you been careful?”

“I haven’t had to be for the past week. I haven’t seen Dave.”

“He took you out to dinner last night.”

Kate searched her pockets for a candy bar, finally found it, and slowly peeled away the wrapper. “I know, but I haven’t seen him.”

“Yeah, well you’re lucky he hasn’t seen you. You’re getting a roll.”

“I can’t go to my exercise class with this cast on my leg.”

“Hmmph. How come you two haven’t been seeing each other?”

Kate watched a squirrel leap onto the bird feeder and eat all the seeds. “I decided it was best if we were just friends. He’s a great person, but we’re so incompatible. All he does is hang around the house all day.”

“Looks to me like that’s all you do.”

“Yes, but I’m on vacation.”

Elsie buttoned herself into her blue coat and slipped her purse over her arm. “Maybe he’s on vacation, too.”

“For six months?”

“It’s allowed. He don’t look like such a slouch to me. I think he’s just getting his ducks in a row.”

Kate wondered if that’s what she was doing—getting her ducks in a row. She didn’t think so. Her ducks had been in a row. Something had happened to all those neat little ducks, and now she couldn’t even find them much less line them up.