Perley took a step closer to me. He was wearing clothes I didn’t recognize, the hood attached to an unfamiliar puffy coat. His blue jeans were stiff, cuffed at the ankle. “Where’s Mama K?” asked Perley.

“She had to go to work,” I said.

“She doesn’t go to work,” Perley said. He looked at me sideways. “It’s probably that she doesn’t want to see me.”

“She does want to see you,” I said. “She went to work to save money to bring you back home,” I said.

“That’s enough,” the caseworker girl said. “That’s really enough. It’s not appropriate to talk to Perley about details of the case, especially when we don’t know the outcome. It’s not fair to him. The swings in this park are some of the best in the county, really state-of-the-art. You’ve got one hour. I’ll go sit on that bench over there.”

Perley and I walked over to the wood chips. His body was shielded from me beneath the enormous coat. I couldn’t even hold him right. I wasn’t sure if he wanted me to. He sat on the state-of-the-art swing. “You’d better push me,” he said, so I pushed him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry this is happening to you,” I said.

“What I think is weird is that there’s nothing you can do about it,” he said, like observing an unusual insect. “I mean, even though you’re my own mama, and you always promise me that you’ll find me and bring me back again, that you’ll know me by my toes, actually they just took me away and there’s nothing you can do, right? Or do you just not want to?”

“Of course I want to,” I said. “I’m trying.”

“Really?” he said.

I thought of how much time I’d spent sleeping, forgetting time. I gave him an extra big push, so that the chain went slack at the top. The white sky glared at me.

“What is it like, where you’re staying?” I asked.

“It’s nice,” he said. “I made one true friend. His name is Altemonte.”

“This is a mix-up, Perley,” I said. “A mistake. You’ll be home soon.”

“Do you and Mama K still love each other?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“Do you still fight all the time?” he asked.

“Well, like I said, she’s not home right now,” I said.

“Does she want me to come home?” he said.

“I told you,” I said. “She’s saving money to bring you back.”

He thought about it.

“Ransom,” he said.

“Ransom,” I said.

“She’s on a mission,” he said.

“Right,” I said.

I had let the swing slow until Perley’s toes dusted the wood chips. The caseworker, on her distant bench, looked up from her phone. “You’d better keep pushing me,” he said.