Angela turned to Ben. “See?” she said. “They all have a thing for Eudora Welty.”

“Did I miss something?” Hudson said, looking confused.

Ben took the bottle from him and fished a wine opener from one of the drawers. “Angela had a bad experience with an English major,” he explained.

“Oh,” said Hudson. “Well, if it helps any, she looked way too much like my grandmother for me to have a thing for her.”

Angela laughed. “I like this one,” she said to Ben, who was pouring the wine into glasses.

“Is it just the three of us?” asked Hudson, accepting a glass from Ben.

“Four,” Ben told him. “Caddie will be down in a minute.”

Hudson sipped his wine. “Dinner smells great,” he remarked.

“You have Angela to thank for that,” said Ben. He was pleased that Hudson and Angela seemed to be getting on. I had a feeling they would, he congratulated himself.

“Here’s our fourth now,” Angela said, and Hudson turned to look at Caddie. Freshly showered, she was wearing a white T-shirt underneath a yellow long-sleeved shirt. Her hair, freed from its ponytail, fell loosely around her face. Seeing Hudson, she smiled brightly.

“You must be Caddie,” said Hudson. “Your father—”

“Has told you so much about me,” Caddie interrupted. “I’m hearing that a lot.”

Ben, listening while he put the salad into four bowls, heard the sarcasm in her voice. But it was mixed with a playfulness he’d never heard in her tone before. It took him a moment to realize what it was. She’s flirting with him, he thought with surprise.

He turned and looked at his daughter. She was leaning against the doorway, nodding at something Hudson was saying. Then she laughed, a glittery run of girlish enthusiasm. Ben, confused, searched for Angela and found her cutting the lasagna into squares. If she noticed Caddie’s flirtation with Hudson, she didn’t show it in her expression.

“All right,” Angela announced. “Dinner’s on. Everyone into the dining room.”

The four of them went into the other room. Ben took his usual seat, while Angela took the one opposite. Caddie and Hudson occupied the other chairs, facing one another across the table. Angela picked up Caddie’s plate and spooned a piece of lasagna onto it. Caddie nodded as it was set before her, but her eyes were on Hudson.

“Hudson is interested in John Steinbeck,” Ben announced to no one in particular. Watching Caddie’s behavior, he was filled with a sudden unease, as if his plan were about to be undone and he needed to shore it up before it was too late.

“Steinbeck,” said Angela. “We had to read Of Mice and Men in high school. I hated it.”

Ben felt his stomach sink. But as he passed Ben a plate of lasagna, Hudson said, “It’s not one of my favorites either. I think they assign it because it’s so short.”