“Ithink I get what you mean, but I’m not sure,” Oversoul Seven said to Cyprus. The two of them were sitting, invisibly of course, on the chairs on Jeffy-boy’s patio. “Will was a past self of Jeffery; that sounds simple enough, I guess. But …”

“But what?” Cyprus asked gently. Then she said nonchalantly, “When the lawn is finished, Jeffery will have an excellent view.”

“There’s something you aren’t telling me,” Seven said stubbornly. “I’m not fooled at all by your sudden interest in Jeffery’s lawn.”

“I’m not keeping anything from you,” Cyprus said, looking nowhere in particular. “There might be a few things you’ve kept from yourself, though. I’ll give you a hint. Jeffery remembered Will, and Lydia is going to have to give her memories to Tweety for a while, and—”

“Don’t tell me,” Seven cried. “I’ll think of it myself.”

“Good,” Cyprus said, smiling. “I just wanted you to know it’s all right for you to remember now.”

“Sometimes you sound so superior,” Seven answered, because no matter how many different ways he cross-referenced his memory—by times, people, events, or probabilities—he couldn’t discover anything that he’d really forgotten.

“Oh, Seven, it isn’t a matter of superiority,” Cyprus began, “It’s—”

“Hold on,” Seven interrupted.

“On to what? Why?”

“It’s just earth vernacular that means ‘wait a bit.’ Never mind; look there!” Seven cried excitedly, because below them Ram-Ram was ambling up the walk. “You knew he was coming, didn’t you?” he asked reproachfully. But Cyprus only smiled.

She said, “Just watch and listen, and maybe you’ll remember something important.” By now she was laughing so hard that she was afraid she’d hurt Seven’s feelings.

But he was too confused to notice. “There are so many unanswered questions,” he mumbled. “I still don’t know why Jeffery wrote the book for us, or how Lydia is connected to him, or how her full acceptance of Tweety’s life has any bearing on Jeffery’s future. I’m still having my troubles with Lydia, by the way. But why should Jeffery care?”

“Shush. Listen,” Cyprus said. She and Oversoul Seven turned into two points of light on the ceiling of Jeffery’s living room.

“What’s Jeffery going to say when he types this?” Seven asked anxiously. “He’ll know we’ve been listening to his private discussions with Ram-Ram.”

“You forget,” Cyprus said. “Jeffery thinks we’re fictional characters.”

Ram-Ram knocked at the door. He had to rap several times before the sound awakened Jeffery, who was still asleep on the couch. Groggily Jeffery yelled, “Go away.”

“It’s Ramrod Brail,” Ram-Ram called.

“Great. Just who I want to see,” Jeffery muttered; but he went to the door anyway and let Ram-Ram in.

“Well, I’ve been discharged,” Ram-Ram exclaimed. He looked very pleased with himself.