Chapter 11
Erika woke up from another eerie dream about her father at 2:17 A.M., according to the clock on the table beside the bed. It was something about—“Black marbles,” she said, reaching for Billy. He wasn’t there. Too tense to roll over and go back to sleep, she got up. The nursery next door to her room was empty. Tiptoeing out into the hallway again, she noticed a light above and some cooing. “He missed you, baby girl,” she whispered. She had gotten Tom Alan back to the house by laying a guilt trip on him. “She looks for you in the morning. So do the cats.” So if Etsuko was with him, where was Billy?
When Erika peeked into Tom Alan’s room upstairs, she smiled and Etsuko smiled back, from the middle of the bed, wide awake. Tom Alan was on his back, his hand on hers, his mouth agape
