Carol looked at me while she took a long slow sip of wine. “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah.”

I forced myself to hold her gaze. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out.”

“Dad’s clearly gaga over her.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like that’s something new. You can hardly pick Polly out from the après-dinner harem Pink summoned. I mean, maybe they can all move in, and we can get our own reality show.” I paused for a breath. “He’ll say the whole thing was Mom’s idea—you know he’s still completely convinced she’s pimping for him from Heaven.”

“You have to nip it in the bud,” Carol said. “Otherwise Dad will be doing his knight in shining armor rescuing a damsel in distress thing. Before we know it, Polly will be our new stepmother, they’ll be out on the town, and we’ll be changing the diapers.”

I knew there had to be a more intelligent response, but I couldn’t seem to wrap my head around it. So I put my fingers in my ears long enough to sing, “Lalalalalala.”

“Wowza, a new stepmother,” Johnny said. “Heavy.”

“Heavy?” Carol said. “Heavy? You don’t say heavy.”

“He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother,” I sang. My pitch was a little bit off, but I totally nailed the tune. At least I thought I did.

Carol narrowed her eyes at Johnny. “What happened to all the corporate gobbledygook you’re always spouting? You know, differentiating value? Strategic theme areas? Backward compatible? Future proof?”

If Johnny heard her, he didn’t let on. He kept one hand on the kitten while he shoveled a massive chunk of Boston cream pie into his mouth, washed it down with some wine. “So which one is Polly anyway?”

As if on cue, there was a soft knock on the door.

Horatio barked. Pebbles growled low in her throat. “Come in,” the rest of us sang.

Polly poked her head in an inch or so. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to check to see if any of them needed feeding . . .”

When Johnny grinned, he looked almost like his old self. “I do. You could snag me another dessert or three.”

“Don’t listen to him,” I said to Polly. I narrowed my eyes at Johnny. “She meant the other animals.”

“Okay, then,” Polly said. “Well, I guess I’ll be hanging out at Burger King if you’re looking for me.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. “Get in here. You know my sister Carol, and this is my brother Johnny.”

John and I scrunched over so Polly could fit on the couch with us. Johnny said hi and handed Polly a fork. She took a polite little bite of Boston cream pie. Her other hand rested protectively on her baby bump.

“When are you due?” Carol asked.

“April,” Polly said.

Carol nodded. “Is the father in the picture?”