Both shocked and impressed, Annie’s peevishness instantly evaporated as Nora’s poise and tenacity, which Annie had been holding at a contemptuous remove, struck—indeed, penetrated—her with its full force. All at once she felt vastly and gratefully inferior and was almost overwhelmed by a desire at once to possess and to be Nora. Yes, to eat her, that’s what she wanted, to bite into the soft flesh, tear out the sinews, lick through her vertebrae, suck the marrow from her bones. Catching Nora’s eyes again, she made a little nod toward Evy, baring her teeth and biting them together. Nora smiled and put down her cards. They both stared at Evy, who now looked up at them.

“What?” she said.

Annie took hold of Evy’s right wrist, Nora the left.

“What are you doing?” Evy protested, as the two girls forced her over onto the carpet. “What are you doing?”

Holding her down, they arched over her, panting and licking their lips.

“Stop,” Evy said. “That’s not funny. Don’t even joke about it.” She screamed as the two girls, with bared teeth, descended.

The door swung open to reveal Annie’s mom, with Raj and Lew behind her.

“What you girls doing in here?”

“They wanted to eat me, Mrs. Celli,” Evy squealed.

The boys entered. Raj put on his upper-class English voice. “Oh, I’m most partial to the pancreas, if that’s not already taken. That, steamed adenoids, lashings of lumpy plasma, and I’m happy as a little sand boy.”

“Shut up!” Evy screamed.

Now he became an Indian, with an exaggerated accent, his head rocking from side to side, “Oh, this reminds me of our last famine. The priest told us not to eat the cow so we ate the priest. It was a lovely family time.”

Lew sat on the bed. Annie got up and went to the door; her mom, just outside in the hall, was staring at Raj with a troubled, curious look. At five in the afternoon she was still in her filthy robe, her hair unwashed and scraggly. She had one arm hooked under her breasts and was a little bent. Annie was filled with a welter of feelings: pity, anger, shame. A big blonde, but not like Nora, her feet not planted in the earth. Her center of gravity was somewhere far beyond her, in another time and place. Out of her element, she was slowly dying.

“Thanks, Mom.” Annie put her hand on the door.

“Please you leave the door open, Annie.”

Annie didn’t say anything. As her mom turned to walk down the hall, she shut the door. She almost wanted her mom to storm back in and scream but knew she wouldn’t. She might think about it for a second, but her resolve would subside. She would go down to the kitchen, light a cigarette, and stare out the window.