“It can’t hurt, going in to see a doctor,” I said. “Just to make sure everything is all right. There’s Sam.”

Carlotta pulled the car up to the curb. The street was still, lit brightly by signs in the shops. Sam stood at the corner holding some bags in his arms. The dog tensed and I held her back while I opened the door. I dropped the wires and the car died painfully.

“Did everything go okay? Wow! How did you get all this stuff in one load? Wait till you see what I’ve got! First I had a good talk with Mr. Sing. He’s really so clever. I asked him if he never made mistakes now that he’s so good at painting. He said, ‘Oh, my, yes.’ He says even a master makes many mistakes, but he’s a master because he knows to cover them up. See, he incorporates the mistake into the picture. If a stroke is a little wrong, he alters all the strokes that come after that just enough to restore the balance and make the original bad stroke right. You realize what this means? This is a case of a lot of wrongs making a right!”

He got in and was crushed against the door. The bags rattled. We got the car moving again.

“I got so excited talking to him about painting that I bought about a year’s supply of rice paper and brushes and ink. He says I’m ready to use the good heavy ink now. And next week he’s going to start me painting bamboo. It’s technically the simplest thing to do but that’s why it’s such a challenge to do it really well. He says there are great masters who have spent their whole lives painting bamboo.

“Also! I found a feed and seed store while I was waiting for you. I’ve got tomatoes, lettuce, peanuts. Did you ever think you could walk into a store and buy peanut seeds? And I also have some seeds that are special for making bean sprouts. I guess they’re beans. Come to think of it, peanuts’ seeds must be peanuts. But you just wrap these beans in a wet towel and put them in a warm dark place and in a few days you’ve got crunchy bean sprouts with your rice. Magic.”

Carlotta smiled. Street lights crept past in the windows.

“You want to drop me here, Carlotta?” I said.

“Aren’t you coming out with us?”

“No, you won’t want to make another trip in tonight, and I have to be here early in the morning.”

The car pulled to the curb slowly, a halt so gradual I didn’t notice it for seconds. Sam let me out and took Angelina and the wires from me. It was going to rain. The smells of the dog and the dust of the upholstery drifted out of the car.