X (Kinsey Millhone 24)

I spotted six racks of books, ranging from board books to picture books to books without illustrations of any kind. I turned to the clerk. “How old are kids when they learn to read?”

“Around here? I’d say ninth grade.”

I finally settled on three bottles of bubble solution with those cunning wands down inside where you can barely reach them to haul them out.

28

I parked at the far end of Vera’s driveway, where a half-moon of concrete had been provided as a turnaround. I went up the back steps and let myself in through one of the French doors that opened from the deck into the kitchen.

The furniture in the seating area had been pushed back against the walls, and the hardwood floor was layered four-deep in quilts and comforters. Vera sat with her back against the sofa, belly enormous and pillows wedged behind her for support. A voluminous tent of a dress covered her bulk and her feet were bare. A toddler I took to be Abigail stood upright beside her, a hand on her mother’s head for balance. Her legs seemed a bit wobbly, but were otherwise doing what baby legs were meant to do. She wore a dress of sprigged muslin, tiny pink roses on a ground of white with puffed sleeves and pink smocking across the front. With her bare feet and plump little arms, she looked edible.

Meg and Peter were running barefoot from the foyer to the kitchen and back again. They’d invented a game that involved propelling themselves down the hall at a dead run and smacking their hands against the front door. Then they’d turn around and run toward the kitchen, bare feet thundering, and bang into the back door.

In one corner, I caught sight of Chase, their golden retriever, who appeared to have been flattened by the children’s relentless energy and noise. When I’d first spotted the dog on the beach path, prancing along beside Vera and Neil, Peter was perhaps eighteen months old and Vera was massively pregnant with Meg. Now that the pooch was four, he’d mellowed considerably. He lay stretched out on the floor with his head on his paws. Now and then, he flicked an eye at the children, making sure all were present and accounted for, and then continued his nap. He didn’t seem to consider me a threat.

Of course, Vera and Neil had a live-in nanny. I’m not sure how she’d have managed without assistance of some kind, though knowing Vera, she’d have done just fine. She’s a big woman and she carries herself with confidence. She’d had her dark hair cut short and wore it now in a shag. With her oversize blue-tinted aviator glasses, she managed to look glamorous even with her midsection pumped up like a dirigible.

After we exchanged the requisite greetings, Vera said, “This is Bonnie.” She indicated the stout middle-aged woman at the kitchen counter and I lifted a hand in greeting. Bonnie smiled in return. She’d soft-boiled half a dozen eggs, three of which now sat upright in yellow egg cups shaped like chicks. She began to slice the tops off, leaving the half shells to form vessels into which the children could dip strips of buttered toast cut into “soldiers.” She’d set up three Peter Rabbit–themed plastic plates divided into compartments. In one, she’d placed diced bananas and pineapple; in another, radish flowers and spirals of raw carrot.

Vera called over her shoulder. “Hey, kids? Settle down. It’s picnic time. Peter? You and Meg come sit in the clouds with me.”

Peter appeared from the hallway at a dead run and flung himself across the comforters with Meg right behind him, mimicking his actions. The entire house, or at least the portions I could see, had been child-proofed. Most of the surfaces were bare, and all the electric sockets were sealed with plastic devices designed to prevent children from sticking forks in the slots, thereby electrocuting themselves. There were no bookshelves with massive volumes perilously close to the edge, no knickknacks within reach of tiny hands. Lamps were wall- or ceiling-mounted, with no dangling cords. Lower cabinets were locked by means of hardware that required the swiping of a magnetic key. There were spring-loaded latches as well. Retractable gates were drawn across the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. The children had free run of the hallway. Period.

What struck me was the uncanny resemblance between Vera and her small brood. Something in her facial structure had been translated intact. They were as beautiful as small foxes, duplicates of her and variations of one another. No physical imprint from Neil at all.

Peter and Meg arranged themselves cross-legged on the floor. Bonnie set down an egg cup and a small spoon in front of each along with their plates, fruits and vegetables neatly segregated. The kids were clearly hungry and went to work with enthusiasm. Vera fed Abigail by hand, placing bites in her upturned mouth, which was open like a baby bird’s.