The Straubs gave me a key to the main house and told me to come and go as I liked. It was a feeling of welcome and inclusion unlike any that I’d had before. I was no longer hovering on the edge of something. I had reached the center. I had arrived.

On my second day in my new apartment, I spent several hours unpacking. I decided to borrow some garbage bags from the Straubs and was jittery with excitement at the thought of using my personal key to their house for the first time. I felt a surge of energy as I unlocked their front door.

Standing in the entry, I overheard Amelia’s voice. “Delta can fend for herself.”

I was surprised to hear Ian’s voice: “She’s derailing her life. You don’t see that?”

I resented Ian’s interference and was about to tell him so, when I turned and saw Itzhak several feet away from me. The dog’s body was tense and low to the ground, and his tail was stiff. Itzhak lunged toward me, jaw open, and his teeth closed on my ankle. I screamed.

Amelia and Ian appeared in the stair hall, both of them stunned. “Noooo!” Amelia yelled at the dog, and yanked his collar. “Get away from her!”

Itzhak crouched, growling.

“Delta, are you OK?” Ian looked shaken. He put his hand on my arm.

My heart was pounding in my chest. I was trembling. I sat on the hall bench, and Ian sat next to me. I pulled my sock down to reveal bite marks. The dog’s teeth had broken the skin, but barely.

“This is crazy.” Amelia’s voice was strident. She was extremely agitated. “He never bites anyone.” Pulling him by the collar, Amelia led Itzhak away to the home office. I heard her close the door.

I was ashamed that the dog had bitten me. I feared the incident would undermine Amelia’s belief that I was part of the family.

She reappeared a few moments later with antiseptic and a bandage.

“It’s not a big deal.” I was trying to speak in a calm voice. “I had a tetanus shot last year.” I didn’t want to reveal how much the dog had frightened me.

“I’m so sorry, Delta.” She looked stricken.

I must have caught Itzhak by surprise. That’s what I told myself repeatedly. His eyesight was poor and he was confused about who I was. Even so, it took several days for me to shake off the episode and return to my former feeling of optimism.