Melody had to admit—grudgingly—that I’d done a good job of solving the Rolly dilemma. She laughed when I told her about Carol’s mortification, and let me stay the night even though the Girl Child was home. We made love furtively in the dark; whispering and fumbling like a pair of teenagers, then fell asleep tangled up in each other.
In the morning when we walked Girl Child to school, we found Rolly waiting for us by the entrance to the schoolyard with her lunchbox in his hand. Girl Child stopped when she saw him, pulling me up short.
“Is that the kid?” Melody asked.
“Yeah, that’s him.” I squeezed the Girl Child’s hand to reassure her. “Don’t worry, he’s not going to give you any trouble.” The Girl Child nodded but didn’t look convinced. I knelt in front of her and handed her a balled-
