Oswald said, “You’re leaving? To do what? Milagro, haven’t you learned anything? You’re not actually going to rush off and do something foolish and dangerous, are you? I’m trying to take care of you!”

“Actually, I have learned something, Oswald. I can’t run away from things, or run back to the past. Maybe I haven’t figured out what my purpose is yet, but I know it’s bigger than my little life, and you can’t protect me from it, because I’m a catalyst—things happen wherever I am.”

Oswald and Lily glanced at each other, and then he said, “Milagro, I’m willing to honor my promise to marry you.”

I stared into his storm gray eyes. “That’s very good of you, considering what you and Lily were up to last night.”

“We didn’t do anything,” he said. “Lily and I have a purely professional relationship.”

I looked at my psychiatrist and said, “What do you think about that, Lily?”

That’s when she lifted her hand and slapped Oswald across his face.

Oswald clapped his hand to his cheek and said, “What the hell!” and Lily said, “Oh, my God, I can’t believe I did that!” and I said, “If you didn’t, I would have,” and Edna said, “I tried to warn her about the quicksand.”

Edna caught up with me as I was putting my packed sports bag into the truck. She said, “Lily hasn’t confessed to anything yet, but I foresee cheap melodrama by nightfall.”

“Guilt and anger will do her a world of good. Being perfect must be exhausting.”

“You’ll never have to bear that burden.”

“We can start a club,” I said. “I’m thrilled that you made the irrational decision to keep your addled young paramour over your cranky ex, and not just because Thomas is prettier, but because he adores you.”

“You did say addled,” she answered with a slow smile.

“I may have contributed to AG’s departure by requesting that he be more respectful of you.”

“Oh, is that what you call assaulting and threatening him?”

“I thought that’s what I said.” I tried raising one eyebrow, but both went up. “What is it about Grant men?”

“Do you mean Oswald and Lily? I wondered when you’d notice.”

I shrugged. “It was Marx who said things happen twice, first as tragedy, then as farce.”

“I didn’t know you studied political theory, Young Lady.”

“I didn’t. I studied farce. I’d love to chat, but now I’ve got to kick serious military contractor ass.”

“I could ask you to be careful.”

“Careful is for other people, Edna, not for superheroes.”

“I give up,” she said. “Go on and be a superhero.”