Archie said, without looking her way, “That’s a buck for the swear jar.”

“We don’t have a swear jar.”

“But if we did,” he said, “you’d have to put a dollar in.”

“Get moving. You’ll be late to school.”

“Uh, earth to Mom. There’s no school today, remember?”

Sandra put the heel of her hand to her forehead, remembering. “It’s teacher prep day or something.”

“Yup.”

“Then what are you even doing up? On weekends you’re in bed till noon.” She took a deep breath through her nose and fixed her eyes on him. “All tuckered out from climbing tall buildings and masts and whatever?”

He let that one go by without comment. “I’m doing stuff with the guys.”

“What guys?”

“The guys? The guys I always hang out with?”

Sandra shook her head. “You and your friends have a special talent for getting into things you shouldn’t.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom.”

If only the tall ship incident were Archie’s only experiment in danger. “You started a grass fire at the Jamesons’.”

Archie looked hurt. “That was a science experiment that got out of hand.”

“You were using a magnifying glass to kill a bug and it set the grass on fire.”

“We were harnessing the power of the sun to eradicate a potentially dangerous spider.”

“And no more exploring rooftops.”

“We were just trying to get a ball back.”

“That’s a load of sh—You know that’s not true. How’d you even get up there?”

Archie shrugged. “It’s not hard. You just use the whaddyacallit, the drainpipe. And coming down, if you aim for the soft bushes, you can jump.”

Sandra momentarily closed her eyes and tilted her head back, as though looking for a higher power to guide her. She opened her eyes, but held her head in the same position and shouted: “Katie!”

From upstairs, a muffled: “What?”

“Conference!”

“So talk!”

“In the kitchen!”

Katie stomped her way back downstairs and stood framed in the kitchen doorway. “You rang?”

“You’re watching Archie today.”

“Excuse me?” cried Archie.

“There’s no school. You’re in charge.”

“No way!” Archie said.

“You gotta be kidding,” Katie said. “I’ve got stuff I’m gonna do.”

“Like?”

“Stuff. Stuff that does not include looking after a baby brother.”

“I do not need a babysitter,” Archie said. “Since when does she have to keep her eye on me?”

“Since you became a pyromaniac and house-climbing chimpanzee,” Sandra said.

Katie wrinkled her nose. “That first one, is that some sort of sex thing?”

“Look,” Sandra said, bringing her voice down a notch, “I need a favor. From both of you. Hear me out.”

The two kids waited.

“Today is the biggest professional day of my career. This could—”

Katie said, “I’m just saying that he’s too old to baby—”