“Ogilvie,” said Wyeth, stroking the beard that flowed over his chest, “is a place at odds with itself. The true native takes great pride in the old traditions, but at the same time he dislikes to be perceived as predictable. The Rose clan are quintessential Ogilvites, and I have no doubt that sooner or later one of them—my bet would be Tab Darling—will be overcome by that conflict and combust spontaneously.”

Angie couldn’t help herself, she burst into laughter. Wyeth nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t smile. He said, “I’ve been waiting for you to come see me. I moved here from New Orleans to study at the university and stayed on to teach school these last twenty years. I do believe you might find my observations useful to your work. Shall we say—”

“Don’t you let Wyeth lure you into his lion’s den,” said Eunice, appearing from around a corner. “He talks real pretty but really what he’s doing is scheming on how to separate you from your panties.”

“Eunice,” Wyeth said smoothly, “you credit me with far too much ambition. I wouldn’t aim so high as panties, at least not to start with.”

The emergency room was very small and very clean, every seat occupied by the crowd from the park: the Roses but other people, too—players and their families, and one or two people who had just tagged along out of curiosity. The atmosphere was not exactly jovial, but nor was it tense.

“Any word yet?” Angie craned her head to see what the nurse at the reception desk was doing.

“Oh, the usual,” said Pearl. “I swear we can’t get through a summer without a half dozen emergency-room visits. Last year the staff had a pool going on how many times one of us would show up. I think the grand total was sixteen. I spend so much time in this place they should put me on the payroll.”

“You all look healthy enough,” Angie volunteered.

Pearl flapped a hand. “We are, healthy as pigs. But prone to accidents, and flights of temper.” She sent Angie a sidelong glance, drew in a breath, and held it for a moment. “I wanted to apologize to you. We really are reasonable folks. It’s just—” She paused. “We’re all worried about Tab, but that’s no excuse for his behavior or the way things got out of hand. I hope Tony in’t the kind to hold a grudge.”

Just then Eunice came down the hall from the examination rooms. She called out, “Tab sprained his ankle plowing into Tony, Drew has got a busted nose, and my Guy needed three stitches on his scalp. I hate to think what commotion y’all would get up to if you didn’t like each other.”

“Tab almost through back there?” Harriet was leaning against the wall with one arm wrapped around each of her two younger boys.