“Aww, people don’t have babies when they’re little. You can’t even read yet.”

“I can read a little!”

“That’s true. That’s true. You would be great. Really great.”

Cami still looked upset.

“Do you want to go pick up a doll baby and you can practice having a baby?”

She nodded.

“Okay, wipe off those tears. Let’s go pick out the best doll baby we can find.”

But when they got to the toy store, Cami had already forgotten the ferocity of her own feelings. She opted for a stuffed emoji face—the cat head with heart eyes.

They went to the small indoor playground next. Andy was there with her daughter.

“Hey!” Izabel said. She was more excited to see a familiar face than she thought she’d be. She sat down next to her while Cami took off her shoes and put them in a cubby.

“Hi,” Andy said. “Remind me of your name again.”

“Izabel. And you’re Andy.”

Andy nodded.

“What are you two up to today?” Izabel asked.

“We went to the store with the racetracks, where they let you race the toy cars. Hestia loves that.”

“‘Goddess of the Hearth’?”

“Ugh, I know. We turn into our parents, right?”

“It’s pretty.”

“Thanks. She certainly lives up to the name.”

Izabel wasn’t sure what that meant, but she smiled at her. She liked a woman who would say something that made no sense.

“You guys?” Andy asked.

“We just bought that emoji pillow thing she’s carrying around with her.”

“Cute.”

“No, it’s not. You can say it.”

Andy laughed. “I liked emojis when I was little, too.”

“Yeah,” Izabel admitted, “so did I.”

“Did you have a favorite?”

Izabel thought. “That one that looks like it’s gasping at something and turning blue and its eyes are all white.”

“I remember that one! Do they still have it anymore?”

“I haven’t seen it,” Izabel said.

“Maybe because it looks like someone suffocating.” As soon as Andy said it, she got embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” Izabel said. “I think about stuff like that.”

Andy shook her head, pushed out a laugh, the way she had before when she was embarrassed.

Izabel wanted to ask Andy what she thought about the murders, but Cami ran up and said she was bored. She sat down and started putting her shoes back on.

“I guess we’re leaving,” Izabel said.

“See you,” Andy said.

Izabel was in high school when her mother’s asthma got really bad, and when she began trying everything to alleviate it. Izabel would be working on a paper and men would show up to clean out the ductwork.

“I heard it helps,” her mother said.