She set before them plates of moist fish, herb-flecked rice, and the vegetables, and raised a forestalling hand.

“In answer to your question,” she said, “it’s parsley, black pepper, and a little lemon rind. And in answer to your extremely helpful and considerate suggestion, the way you’d cook it might very well be the way you’d cook it if you happened to be cooking, but this is the way I cook it, because I am not you, but me, okay?” She passed extra quarters of lemon, and squeezed hers over her fish. “Now, do you want to talk about stuff?”

“Not really.” Lulu sighed again and tasted her sea bass. “This is very good, by the way, thank you. But I suppose we’d better get the conversation over with because I know you’re itching to have it.”

“Well, it seems someone has to,” said Emma. “Mom says you bit her head off this morning when she tried it.” She laid down her knife and fork and looked at Lulu for a moment. “We’re all quite worried about you, you know,” she said. “And I know you don’t want to talk about this, and I know I’m not allowed to ask you if you have any plans for what you’re going to do next. But, just out of curiosity, do you have any plans?”

“Not for the long term,” said Lulu. “But, since you’re so eager to know, I was thinking that just for the time being I might look for something to do with animals.”

There was a pause.

“Animals,” said Emma.

“What’s wrong with animals?” said Lulu. She looked up sharply from her plate. “Do you not like them or something?”

“Of course I like them! It’s just that …” Emma paused, seeking diplomacy. “Well, you’ve never really particularly talked about them before.”

“I’m very good with them,” said Lulu. “Hadn’t you noticed?”

“Umm …” Emma searched her memory, trying to trace an especial bond between Lulu and the animal world.

“I talk to Toby much more often than you do,” said Lulu. “I like Toby a lot. And Mrs. Goncharoff has a sweet little pug who always wags his tail when he sees me.”

“Animals,” said Emma. “So you’re thinking of going to veterinary school.”

“No!” Lulu reached for the pepper and ground it vigorously over her fish, shaking her head in frustration. “I’m not thinking of going to any sort of school! Don’t you listen to anything? I’m thinking that obviously I have to get some sort of a stopgap job until I decide what I really want to do, and, just as a stopgap job, just to fill in the time, just temporarily, I might start looking around for something to do with animals.”

“Well, what to do with animals? A lion tamer? A snake charmer? A cowgirl?”

“I don’t know,” said Lulu. “Maybe a vet’s receptionist.”

“A vet’s receptionist,” said Emma. “Oh, Lulu, you’ve got a first-class degree in biochemistry. Wouldn’t you be bored out of your mind?”