I’m thinking, and I’m sure Sabryna is thinking also, about the list of names we went through—Stupid-head, Antonio Brown, Dirtball, Lucy the Second, Killer Kahn, Spaz—before we settled on The Duke for our dog.

Sabryna has the correct, all-purpose, never-fail parental answer: “We’ll see. We’ll see.” For this magical phrase to work, it must be said four times. So Sabryna adds another round. “We’ll see. We’ll see.”

Willie yells, “Good deal.” And this apparently requires a high five between him and Devan.

There are, of course, follow-up questions. But the questions are practical ones: “Where will the baby sleep?” “Does the baby cry?” They ask nothing exceptionally serious, like, “Whose baby is this?” “Where did she come from?” Apparently in their world of Guardians of the Galaxy babies can just, well, magically show up, like the baby who’s showing up tomorrow.

We clear the table. The baby news has made the boys particularly helpful with the cleanup. What in the world are they thinking?

Sabryna begins scooping out sensible small portions of chocolate ice cream. Then quite suddenly the downstairs buzzer rings. We’ve heard it a thousand times before, but just in case we’d forgotten, Devan says, “It’s only the night buzzer for the store.”

Sabryna sighs. Then she says, “Probably some foolish neighborhood guy needing to pick up a six-pack of Red Stripe.”

“Maybe it’s the people with the baby,” Willie says.

Sabryna goes to the very unreliable intercom and presses a button. “We’re closed,” she says firmly.

“No. I look for Mrs. Lucy’s house,” comes a foreign-accented male voice.

“Who do you want?” Sabryna asks.

“The midwife,” the man says. “Is this her house?”

I’m instinctively worried that there’s an emergency somewhere. I hurry to the intercom. I sure hope I won’t be hurrying back to Gramatan University Hospital or making some unscheduled, unplanned neighborhood visit. I take the phone. “This is Lucy Ryuan. How can I help?”

The vaguely familiar voice comes back at me.

“I am Patrik Kovac. I am the father of Katra.”

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

I LEAVE WILLIE DOWNSTAIRS with Sabryna and Devan. A few minutes later Katra’s father and I settle into my tiny and very untidy apartment.

Patrik Kovac sits on the one cleared chair in my living room. I sit on the edge of my foldout sofa. The foldout is, as always, open, messy, and covered with papers and books and clothing.

“There is a problem that I cannot keep inside me,” Patrik says as I pour him a cup of reheated morning coffee, coffee that wasn’t too great tasting when it was fresh.

“I cannot tell police. I cannot tell the neighbors. So I must tell you,” he says.