It was a blissfully uneventful day and the girls enjoyed the novelty of once more riding on the bus and being the last four to get off just as that morning they had been the first four to get on. Charlie thought it conferred on them a certain distinction.

“We’ve never been first on and last off the bus before,” said Charlie.

“Who cares?” said Natasha.

“It makes us special,” said Charlie.

“You’re living without a grown-up,” said Marlin. “You’re already special.”

“Anyway, it does you no good to be special if no one knows why you’re special,” said Natasha.

“Yes, and let’s keep it that way,” said Fiona wryly.

They got a quick after-school snack in the kitchen and Fiona wrapped up the rest of the cake in foil.

“Now,” she announced, “we are taking this next door.”

“What—to that mean man in the trailer?” said Charlie in dismay.

“Yes. A plan has been forming at the back of my mind ever since Marlin joked that we should send letters to the aunts and uncles who wouldn’t take us, offering to pay them to take us. It’s been driving me crazy like an itch you can’t reach but in the middle of the night it finally came to me. Last night I kept imagining situations where we would be found out because we had no grown-up pretending to be our guardian. And I thought of that man next door. He might not do it for free but I think he might if we offered to pay him.”

“Why him?” asked Marlin.

“Well, he looks like he has no scruples and is in need of money. Also, he’s close for emergencies. If we need someone to come over and pretend to be watching us.”

Marlin nodded slowly. She could see the merit in this plan. “And the cake is to sweeten the deal? Good idea,” she said, thinking of his stomach hanging over the belt of his pants. “He looks like he enjoys a good cake.”

“I don’t want to go. He’s scary,” said Charlie.

“You don’t have to,” said Fiona. “You can stay here and Natasha can too. Marlin too for that matter.”

“Oh no,” said Marlin. “I’m not letting you enter the lion’s den alone. Come on.” She hooked her arm through Fiona’s and the two of them marched down the front steps carrying the foil-wrapped cake.

“You stay in the house, though, Charlie and Natasha!” yelled Marlin over her shoulder.

“And do your homework!” shouted Fiona.

When Fiona and Marlin got to the trailer and knocked on the door it took the man a long time to answer and when he did he looked fuzzy-headed.

“WHAT!” he roared just as he had a couple of days before. “Who are you?”

“We are Martha McCready’s great-nieces,” said Fiona patiently. “You met us before. Can we come in?”

“No,” said the man, staggering back and landing on a couch opposite the open door. Fiona entered anyway, carefully stepping around the clutter of empty beer cans and bottles on the floor.