What a difference a peanut butter and jelly sandwich made. The younger girl smiled and even talked. She said thank you to Decker, and when he offered to show her the horses, she actually looked at him before she averted her eyes. After urges from Minda, Bryna went with her younger brother, Pessy, to give the steeds some chow. She even gave the horses sugar cubes. Afterward, Decker gave her two glasses of milk and she drank them both.

Maybe she was undernourished.

Pessy squealed with delight as he related his tale of horses to brother Mendel. The teenager listened politely, then tousled Pessy’s hair. Minda’s attention was still fixed on the TV. This time she was watching a word game. She responded to the questions, smiling when she got the correct answers, but the competition didn’t hold as much attraction for her as the prize shows. Decker checked the paper’s TV guide, then changed the channel to Wheel of Fortune.

“You can win big things on this one,” Decker told her.

“As big as The Price Is Right?”

“You bet.”

Minda nodded gravely.

Mendel went on with his learning.

And Honey still hadn’t returned.

Finally, just as Decker was about to leave, a knock sounded at the front door. Decker opened it and knew something was wrong. The woman, who seemed light-complexioned to begin with, appeared pale and nervous, hands clasped tightly to one another. Still, she tried out a smile, her voice attempting to be upbeat.

“I’m Honey Klein. I hope my kids haven’t been a bother.”

“No, they’ve been fine.” Decker felt a gush of relief as he stepped out of the way. “Come in. Is everything okay?”

“Fine.” Honey bit her lip. “I’m a little tired. Jet lag, I guess. Thank you very much for sharing your home with us. It’s very special what you’re doing.”

“It’s our pleasure. Rina’s in the kitchen.”

Decker started to walk and she followed. Not a bad-looking woman, if you like cute faces—small features and dimples in her cheeks. She had a nice figure, too. But her expression was full of anxiety. She saw her children gathered around the dining table and forced out another smile. “Hi, kids.”

“Mama!” Pessy bounced out of his chair and began to jump as he talked. “I got to feed the horses!”

“That’s wonderful,” Honey said.

“They eat sugar.”

“They do?”

“Yes. Big sugar cubes. And carrots, too!”

“Really.”

“You want to feed the horses, Mama?”

“Yes, but later,” Honey said. “Guess what, kids? I got us a car! Now we can go anywhere!”

Mendel said, “I thought you said we weren’t going to rent a car. That it was too expensive.”