Nell and Etta always got mad when I did anything in their kitchen beyond getting myself a Coke, and since I’ve moved to Chicago I don’t have anybody to cook for, so I haven’t been motivated to work on it. Mostly I’m too busy with school and all, sol just eat there.” Clare takes a bite of her curry. “This is really good.”

　“Nell and Etta?”

　“Nell is our cook.” Clare smiles. “Nell is like cordon bleu meets Detroit; she’s how Aretha Franklin would be if she was Julia Child. Etta is our housekeeper and all-around everything. She’s really more almost our mom; I mean, my mother is...well, Etta’s just always there, and she’s German and strict, but she’s very comforting, and my mother is kind of off in the clouds, you know?”

　I nod, my mouth full of soup.

　“Oh, and there’s Peter,” Clare adds. “Peter is the gardener.”

　“Wow. Your family has servants. This sounds a little out of my league. Have I ever, uh, met any of your family?”

　“You met my Grandma Meagram right before she died. She was the only person I ever told about you. She was pretty much blind by then. She knew we were going to get married and she wanted to meet you.”

　I stop eating and look at Clare. She looks back at me, serene, angelic, perfectly at ease. “Are we going to get married?”

　“I assume so,” she replies. “You’ve been telling me for years that whenever it is you’re coming from, you’re married to me.”

　Too much. This is too much. I close my eyes and will myself to think of nothing; the last thing I want is to lose my grip on the here and now.

　“Henry? Henry, are you okay?” I feel Clare sliding onto the seat beside me. I open my eyes and she grips my hands strongly in hers. I look at her hands and see that they are the hands of a laborer, rough and chapped.

　“Henry, I’m sorry, I just can’t get used to this. It’s so opposite. I mean, all my life you’ve been the one who knew everything and I sort of forgot that tonight maybe I should go slow.” She smiles. “Actually, almost the last thing you said to me before you left was ‘Have mercy, Clare.’ You said it in your quoting voice, and I guess now that I think of it you must have been quoting me.”