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"Take both the dogs," Hester said

"No, the kids get too cranked up with both of theh chair a lick and a promise with the dishcloth and lifted Cordelia out of it by her ar salts, a bracing relief With Cordie on her hip, Dellarobia whistled softly and called Roy by na Charlie to stay down To her dismay, Crystal rose as if she too had been whistled up, announcing she had to go get her boys too She followed outside and stood by as Dellarobia opened the back door of her station wagon for Roy, then buckled Cordie into her car seat Dellarobia could feel the rain in little icy pricks on the gap between her sweatshirt and jeans when she leaned into the car

"You buckle her in, even just to go to your house?" Crystal asked

"Ninety percent of accidents happen within one mile of hoht not have bothered with the car seat if she hadn’t had the world’s laziest mother in attendance Someone had to set an example

"It’s not a mile to your house It’s like, two hundred feet"

"What’s up, Crystal? First and third grade don’t let out until afternoon Don’t tell arten"

Crystal rearranged her face, going for wide-eyed and perky "I just thought we could talk for a fewJust, stuff"

Dellarobia got in the car and sat with the door open, hands on the steering wheel, waiting She knew Crystal wanted soirl was permanently set on intakeyour kids"

"I’?"

The rain was starting to pick up, but Crystal rehed at rain and said, "You won’t melt," but Crystal’s body mass was probably 35 percent ht hed "Get in"

Crystal walked around to the passenger’s side, flopped in, and conspicuously clicked her seat belt "Do you really have to be so"

They completed the ninety-second ride to Dellarobia’s driveway before Crystal had advanced this line of inquiry Roy’s black-and-white body poured out of the car and swirled in figure eights on the lawn, eager for whatever project he was here to begin

"Roy, down," Dellarobia said, and he lay flat on the watery lawn before she even had both syllables out The grass was still faintly green, not yet winter-killed, as they’d had no snow or even a hard frost Cordie didn’t have a proper winter coat, just doubled-up sweatshirts It wasn’t negligence--the kids truly had not needed bundling up yet, the weather had failed to nudge theet or the Second Time Around shop for that purpose The idea of December seemed impossible A few times when people had asked if she was ready for Christmas, she’d actually drawn a blank: ready for what? And of course felt idiotic afterward People autoes,up to the nearest pajama size But the weird weatheroutdoors she so to place the month of the year, and Cub had said the same It felt like no season at all The season of burst and leaky clouds