Angela, leaning back against the counter, pushed her hair behind an ear. “You’re pretty hip yourself, you know,” she said.

The front door opened, and Ben was pleased to see Caddie come into the kitchen. When she saw Angela, she stopped and looked from her to her father. “Hi,” she said.

“Caddie, this is Angela,” Ben said. “Angela is one of the grad students working with us.”

“Oh,” Caddie said, as if some unspoken question had been answered. “Hi.”

“Your father’s told me a lot about you,” said Angela.

Caddie looked at her father but said nothing. Ben, too, was quiet, busying himself with a tomato. “Angela is having dinner with us,” he said.

Caddie nodded. “I’m going to go take a shower,” she said, leaving quickly with a nod at Angela.

“She doesn’t seem so hostile,” Angela remarked quietly, coming to stand beside Ben.

“I think we caught her off guard,” said Ben. “She probably thought you were a date or something.” He laughed shortly.

“What’s so funny about that?” Angela said, hitting him lightly on the arm.

“Me having a date,” said Ben. “Especially with someone like you.”

“You don’t think very highly of yourself, do you?” Angela remarked, going once more to the oven and opening the door.

Ben started to answer but stopped. He didn’t know how to answer the question. Even if he did, he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He was used to Angela being his assistant. Although their relationship had become more casual of late, he still saw her as something of a daughter, not a psychiatrist. He cleared his throat. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited another friend to dinner,” he said.

Angela pulled the lasagna out of the oven and set it on the stove-top. “And here I thought I had you all to myself,” she said.

“His name is Hudson,” Ben said. “He’s a grad student. Like you.”

“Biology?” Angela asked, tearing off some tinfoil and covering the lasagna pan.

“English,” said Ben.

“My last boyfriend was an English major,” Angela said. “He was completely obsessed with Eudora Welty. It was way too much for me. I mean, how do you compete with a dead woman?”

“I guess you can’t,” Ben answered, feeling a little lost. He was rescued by a knock on the door. “Come in!” he called.

Hudson, carrying a bottle of wine, came into the kitchen. “I hope I’m not too early,” he said.

“You have perfect timing,” said Angela. “I just took the lasagna out.” She held out her hand. “Angela Rossiter,” she said.

“Hudson Jones. It’s good to meet you.”

“Tell me, how do you feel about Eudora Welty?” Angela asked him.

Hudson hesitated a moment. “I guess my favorite of her stories is ‘The Wide Net,’ ” he said. “The novels I’m not so fond of.”