“No, no.” Lan waved her hands. “Nothing special back there. Nothing special at all. Just donut stuff.”

“Excuse me,” Shirley apologized. She pulled Lan away, and the two started arguing in what must have been Vietnamese.

They were peculiar, but in a very non-musician way. In fact, watching them made Shizuka feel refreshed. So Shirley was Lan’s daughter? Of course she was. Shizuka had never seen any sign of the father. Not that it was her business …

Ah, but enough with the daydreams. She had somewhere to be.

“Well, I should be getting to the ducks.”

“Ducks?”

“I am off to feed the ducks—not to imply your donuts are duck food, but…”

“Ducks?” Lan asked again.

The way she asked it was peculiar, as if … No, surely Lan knew what a duck was. Did they not have ducks in her country?

“If you want, I can show you.”

“Oh! Um, no. You see, I have to work.”

Shirley tapped Lan on the shoulder. “Mother, take a break. You worked a triple shift yesterday. We can handle the shop while you’re gone.”

“Yes, but—”

“Mother, let’s get your coat.”

No matter how much she tried to deny it, her mother was in a very organic body. And that meant she needed time to relax.

Shirley nodded to Shizuka. “She’ll be right out, ma’am.”

Shizuka heard more muffled speech. Then Lan came out with her coat and the bag of two-day-old donuts.

When they arrived at El Molino Park, the members of the senior tennis club were packing up their equipment. As usual, a couple of the old Chinese women waved.

Shizuka frowned. Again, no sign of the violin player. But it was a beautiful day, and she was with Lan.

Lan. That’s right. I’m with Donut Lady, and her name is Lan.

The two of them sat on Shizuka’s favorite bench by the pond. Ducks lazily floated past. Mallards, wood ducks, mandarins. And that was not a duck, but a coot. And that was a cormorant.

Lan could identify these from her data. But here, they glided like ships through space. Some were large and stately, others, small, quick and loud. They filled the pond with different shapes and colors, as if in a bustling, healthy spaceport.

Shizuka pulled out a red velvet donut with rainbow sprinkles.

“Do you just toss it in?”

Shizuka nodded as the two-day-old donut bounced into the lake. Lan tossed one in as well.

The ducks scrambled as usual for their meal. But suddenly, the water boiled with scores of carp and goldfish. Some were dark, or silver, but many were orange and golden and speckled. Shizuka thought of all the children who had won goldfish at summer church carnivals.

“Hmm … that never happens with bread,” Shizuka thought out loud. “Maybe the fish have a sweet tooth?”

“Why would they eat sweets if their teeth were already sweet?”