Something wonderful would surely happen when Mom got the card, Nola was certain. Maybe Mom would remember sweet Jenna, who had to live with Mini-Nazi that never smiled because, she said, no one paid her to smile. But after Nola had given her Mom the card and got her out of the house for a walk by the cliff, Nola's hopes were over because Mom didn’t even want the Sara Lee cheesecake. There was no difference in the air, except that the anticipation that had been so exciting, was spent.

And then Dad came home and told them that the deposit he had put on a ranch in Colorado had been stolen. Mom said it was his fault because he was too naive to be a businessman or even a rancher. Nola didn’t mind losing the money too much. Just a little. She was sad about the furniture they could have bought instead, but was glad not to move away from Jenna and school, so things evened out, except that other dads who weren’t musicians knew how to take care of things, and their children didn’t have to worry about them. Something thin but strong, like a fishnet, lay about Nola, and sometimes she feared her feet might get tangled in it and she’d trip and fall.

When Ms. Cutter asked who knew of a special place to stage an Easter egg hunt, Nola suggested the lawn on the big estate even before she had asked the old man’s permission; she knew he wouldn’t mind. And sure enough, when she told him, half of his face smiled, so she dabbed with his napkin at his drool before the cat got to it, and he touched her fingers in thanks. His skin was dry and cold, like the belly of a dead puppy, and it sent shivers up Nola's arm. How could anyone be so old for so long? Still, she brought him a bowl of red Jell-O with two spoons, because now she didn’t mind sharing with him.

Since it was spring, Nola went to check on the stairs leading down to the beach. More steps were missing. She had to hold on to a jagged rock, and she cut her hands and scraped her thighs. For a second she lost her footing and thought that maybe, as Dad had warned, she might break her head. Her next thought was, who would then be good to Jenna? But by the time the thought flashed through her mind, she had balanced herself.