“That’s nutritional danger. Not real danger. Anyway, she wouldn’t do that.”

“She’s done it before! She called it Upside-Down Day. They ate everything in reverse, and had pancakes for dinner. Max threw up twice before bed.”

“Cassie, I know my mom wouldn’t let Max get hurt. I’m sure Max is fine. I’m sure they’ll resurface soon.”

He thought he heard sirens in the background. “Cassie?” he said. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, this is all I need,” she said. “This is all I fucking need. I have to go. I’m driving. I just got pulled over. I’ll call you back.”

After the call ended Anthony drained the last of the bulletproof coffee. He needed to get back to his own cottage. He needed to take a hot shower, clear his head, brush the disastrous night from his molars. He called goodbye and thank you to Lu and the boys and slunk out of the front door of the house.

And there, outside Fitzy’s uncle’s front door, stood a sight for his sore eyes, his sore head, his devastated, fractured soul: Dorothy Puckett, and, next to her, the biggest missing piece of Anthony’s heart. Max.

Anthony couldn’t believe that after such a long time Max was here, in front of him, in the flesh. Anthony crouched down and opened his arms and Max went straight into them. Anthony hugged him so hard and so long that after a certain amount of time had passed Max whispered, “Daddy, I can’t breathe!” and so Anthony released him. He held him at arm’s length, smiling so hard his face hurt.

Max had grown. He was sturdier. He had had a recent haircut, which made him look a little older and more serious, but his cowlick still stood proudly. He smelled like fresh-cut grass and suntan lotion and clean childhood sweat; he smelled like a little boy’s summertime. He was perfect.

Dorothy looked well rested and confident. She wore a tasteful taupe dress; a pair of sunglasses pushed back her silver bob.

“Mom,” Anthony said. “I couldn’t be happier to see you both, but what were you thinking?”

“I was thinking it was time to come for a visit,” Dorothy said unapologetically. “All summer I’ve been asking you! We really need to talk, Anthony. And you yourself told me Cassie was keeping Max from you. I thought it was time to rectify the situation.”

“But why didn’t you ask Cassie first? She was frantic.”

Dorothy chortled. “Cassie would never have said yes to this! So I used one of my old favorite rules: Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Anyway, I left a note. No reason for her to be frantic. May we come in? I brought you a coffee.” She bent down and retrieved from the ground a cardboard tray holding two cups that said Joy Bombs across them in the bakery’s signature font. Of course. Where else would Dorothy have stopped for coffee?

Anthony opened the door for his mother and his son (his son! in the flesh!) to enter. Dorothy put the coffees on the coffee table and looked around, delighted.