“Which is why you want Vera. She’s the same way.”

That was so absurd that Adam laughed. He opened the fridge and pulled out a plate of chicken.

“What’s this?” Kelly was looking at a rectangular machine with a window in the front.

“It’s an Amana Radarange. Dad got it. It heats food in minutes.”

“It makes the food radioactive?”

“Probably.” Adam was serious. “But the good news is that it makes your body glow green. No need for a flashlight.”

Kelly worked to keep from laughing. “Maybe I’ll be able to see in the dark like a possum can. Show me how it works.”

They heated the chicken Adam had bought and Kelly filled plates with salads. They took their food and drink into the living room. The TV was in a cabinet, the huge and heavy body set deep inside. Adam turned it on with a remote control.

“Fancy,” Kelly said. “Mom and I argue about which one of us has to get up to change the channel.”

“Let me guess—Vera does it.”

“Yes, if Mom and I argue very loudly Vera will do it for us.”

He laughed. The theme music to Bonanza with the burning map, so familiar to all Americans, came on and they settled back on the big couch, plates in hand. The show had been on for thirteen years, and it was rumored that it was soon to end.

“I miss Adam,” Kelly said.

“That’s nice, and I appreciate your saying that.”

“Not you. Adam Cartwright.” The actor had left the show years before.

“I know.” His eyes were twinkling. “He was your favorite?”

“Sure. What about you?”

“Hop Sing. He can cook. And Hoss. Sweet man.”

They watched the show about the father and his sons running the vast Nevada ranch. At the break for ads, Adam didn’t look at her as he quietly said, “I miss these American comforts. I miss being near people I’ve known all my life.”

“But you’re leaving soon.”

“I’ll be with Vera, so things will be different.”

He sounded sad.

“There’s no Radarange in your little African village?”

“There’s no running water. No indoor toilet.”

The show came back on, but Kelly didn’t look at the screen. Her intuition was that Adam was saying something serious. Maybe he didn’t want to leave home.

“Once Vera leaves here, I’m not sure she’ll ever want to return. She’s angry about pretty much everything. She reads all the newspapers and watches all the news shows.”

“I know,” he said. “Vera comes with the world attached to her ankle.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“When I was in Africa, all I could think about was how different it would be when Vera got there. But now...” He was silent for a while and Kelly didn’t break in. “Hey!” he said. “Why are we talking about me? You’re the problem.”