Cricket grinned, an expression that made her look younger. “Oh, that’s fun, but no. The best thing is that I rarely have to feel helpless.”

Recent history had disproven that. “I would bet you felt helpless when you lost your husband, when you found out you had cancer.”

“Death is inevitable, my dear. I wish Ross and I had more time. We didn’t get to enjoy each other the way we should have.” Cricket was quiet for a moment, as though she was trying to figure out how much to say. “We had a lot of trouble at the beginning of our marriage. I don’t think either of us took it as seriously as we should have. My husband was a good man, but he wasn’t a perfect man. We struggled a lot to find out how it could work between us. As for the cancer, yes, that was terrible, but I had it better than most. There are things we can’t change, but that’s not what I mean. Every human being will face things they have no power over. Every creature, really. Like this one. She would have died, likely, if someone with the means to save her hadn’t come along. There’s something terrible about seeing a problem and not being able to solve it.”

Sylvie turned to the woman who had very likely made it possible for her to go to Tulane. “Like a girl who can’t afford college?”

Cricket practically glowed in the afternoon light, and there was such joy in her eyes. “Yes, love, that’s what I mean. Seeing smart, ambitious children who are only held back by their lack of funds can make a person feel helpless. I didn’t understand that until I got here, you know. In Dallas, I was insulated. There was a lot of diversity there, but in my world, everyone was wealthy. Here, I can’t ignore it. It’s not something I read about in the paper. It’s something people I’ve come to care about experience. And I don’t have to feel helpless. I can make up a scholarship and those brilliant children who were so kind to my own son could go to any school they wanted.”

Sylvie snapped her fingers. “I knew Andre didn’t get in on his own. He did not have the grades.”

Cricket sat up a bit straighter. “Your brother’s talents made up for his lack of a studious mind. He’s an artist. He only needed a bit of help to get his work in front of the right people.”