Peter leaned toward me, giving me the Donnie Brewster treatment. “And I’m telling you I can smooth this guy out. I come three thousand miles and find out the mafia got my family, I know what to do. I’m Peter Alan Nelsen.”

Karen leaned toward him. “We’re not your family.”

Peter’s face went red and he blinked behind the thick glasses. “Hey, I’m just trying to help. I’m just trying to take care of the boy. All this following around and waiting, something could happen. Someone could get hurt.”

Karen said, “Elvis knows how to do this. If you come barging in, you’ll mess it up.”

Peter rolled his eyes and made a big deal out of waving his hands. “That’s right, that’s right. I don’t know anything.” He looked at me, and then he looked at Karen, and then he shook his head. Mr. Incredulous. “You got no idea how lucky you are. There must be four hundred million women out there wish they had been married to me. You oughta wake up and take advantage.”

Karen’s face went very white and a small dimple appeared below the corners of her mouth, and she said, “You arrogant sonofabitch. Get out of my home.” You could hear her breathe.

Peter slammed out of the door. Outside, the ball stopped bouncing and the voices grew hushed.

Neither of us said anything for a time, and then Karen went to the window and looked out. She lifted her hands and looked at them and said, “My God, I’m shaking.”

I nodded.

She put one hand in the other and held them down, looking again at whatever was on the other side of the glass. “I guess I’ll have to let him own me a little while longer, won’t I?” I didn’t know if she was talking about Peter or Charlie, but maybe it didn’t matter.

“Yes,” I said. “I guess you will.”

She nodded. “Okay. If that’s what it takes, I can do that.”

“You’re doing fine.”

“I’m surviving.”

“Sometimes that’s enough.”

“No,” she said. “It used to be. But it isn’t anymore.”

Chapter Twenty-eight

Twenty-eight

Karen Lloyd put out blankets and pillows and towels for Pike and me in a little spare room that she used as a home office. There was a couch and a desk in the little room, and just enough floor space for one of us on the couch and one of us on the floor. Pike said he’d take the floor.