"No problem, I just bought one of these new portable ones," she said taking it out of her purse. "You can use it now."

I shook my head. "It's too early, he doesn't get in until nine."

"What's going on tomorrow?" she asked.

"This guy I know owes me some money and I have an appointment to meet him at a club tomorrow night to collect. Would you like to come?"

"I'll think about it. We should go, it's getting late. Are you ready?"

I nodded as I finished the last of the wine. She turned on the slim phone, punched in a number and looked at me as she spoke into the receiver, "Listos Antonio."

I left and walked ahead as she locked the doors to the vault. Antonio was waiting with the car doors open by the time we had made our way to the road. The sun sank behind orange, red, and purple clouds. I listened to the birds chirping and thought about what my life would be like from now on. I'd always felt like a modern-day Robinson Crusoe, walking alone on my island, but now instead of finding one strange set of footprints in the sand, I found twenty-eight.

Antonio looked at me differently as I walked up to the car. He knew that I knew and acted as submissive to me as I'd seen him act with Poppy. He held some mysterious reverence toward her that hadn't made sense until now. She got in the car and Antonio slowly started the Cadillac on the narrow winding road out of the cemetery.

"Hey, there's something I just thought of. You have another name besides Poppy."

"I think you'll know that name very soon. Poppy is just a nickname anyway. I was named Yuko Fujimori as a child, but I prefer Poppy."

"Your secret name, how did you choose it?"

I could tell she was tired of my questions. "First of all our names aren't secret, they're private. There's a difference. Secondly, how I chose mine isn't important. Each one chooses his name for his own reasons. Just remember one thing, not many people get to name themselves, so think carefully before you choose. You'll have that name for a long time."

She would know. "Is it common to use the name of the first person you were?"

"It's not common but not unheard of either. I suppose it depends on if you think you are still that person."

"You said you are the same person in different bodies, is that how you chose your name?"

Irritation began to show on her face. "I am the same person through these many trips but I cannot talk about my name until you are one of us. I'm sorry."

"No it's okay, I understand. I'm just curious. Can you tell me why everything about this Cognomina is so secretive?"