There is a clomping on the porch. He catches sight of the woman breezing past the latticed divider and into her side of the cottage. As soon as she gets inside she turns on music, as if she has rushed home for this sole purpose.

Violins, drums, the Mamas and the Papas.

You gotta go where you wanna go

She is singing along, her voice harmonizing with the recorded ones. A rectangle of yellow light falls onto the porch floor from her living room and occasionally Asher can see her silhouette passing in front of it.

Once he goes back inside he finds that Justin is asleep, sprawled out across his bed still wearing his Chuck Taylors, lamplight illuminating his face. Shady lifts his head and acknowledges Asher with his good brown eyes (I am too bone-tired to get up) then settles his muzzle back on Justin’s chest. Asher sits on the edge of the bed and watches his son sleep.

7

7

He leaves a note by Justin’s bed—I’m working; stay in the house.

Bell meets Asher in the courtyard, wearing a seagull-patterned muumuu. Asher studies the knot of tiny pink flowers pushed into her hair at the back of her head and she says, “Frangipani. My favorite. Smell.”

Asher feels awkward leaning into the back of her head, but he draws in the scent—like the magnolias back home, but more fruity.

“They smell the best at night,” she says, and takes off across the courtyard. “First thing is we need to set up breakfast.”

And so Asher’s workday begins. Bell shows him how to do everything: lay out breakfast, clean the rooms, do the laundry, sweep all the porches, put out evening wine-and-cheese service, be on call if folks need pillows or anything else.

Bell sits heavily in one of the metal chairs and dots her sweating forehead with a handkerchief, cross-stitched at its edges. There is a wall of purple bougainvillea and aloe plants big as tree stumps, and all manner of nature closing in on them at all sides.

“Evona will tend to the flowers and trees, wash down the walkways, fix anything that needs fixing.”

“How long she been with you?”

“Long while,” Bell says. “Best not to ask too many questions of her, and she’ll do the same for you.”

Asher nods, relieved.

“The main thing you need to know about Evona is that one day she’ll be as happy as a lark and the next day she’ll be real low.” Bell fixes her eyes on him. “You need to know that. Alright?”

He nods again. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes, but I may or may not answer it.”

“That’s fair enough.”

Bell waits, closes her eyes as a breeze moves through the yard.

“Have you ever heard of anybody here named Luke Sharp?”

“No. I’d remember a name like that,” she says. “Who is he?”