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I heard the low h, floating above the song of the bugs-and then a lower, deeper laugh The laughter seeed down the driveway, alongside the Pathfinder, toward the lighted s As I got closer, I foundinto the kitchen Miranda sat at the table, chatting between bites of food Eddie Garcia sat catty-corner fro Then Garcia turned his head away from Miranda and spoke I heard another voice-another female voice-and a dark-haired wo a dark-haired baby on her hip Garcia bea the baby from her He nuzzled its cheek, then nibbled at its ear, and I heard the pure hter Miranda spoke softly, and Garcia handed the baby to her She sat the child on the edge of the kitchen table, her hands encircling its chest and tucked beneath its arht snatches of her voice, the gentle singsong of baby talk Miranda looked radiant, and the baby grinned, and Garcia and his wife beamed proudly, and I felt a wave of sadness and loneliness and shame crash over me

CHAPTER 13

I STILL FELT CAUGHT IN THE SAME UNDERTOW OF feelings the nextover brochures extolling the virtues of lanced up, but only briefly “I think you should have one of each kind is on the left side, ceraht Make a personal investment in your research”

I pointed to a flyer from Smith amp; Nephew, one of the titans of the artificial-joint industry, and tapped on the word “Oxinium,” the company’s tradeh-tech and exotic-not hokey, the way “cremains” did Sroup research on various names for the hness of metal with the hardness and smoothness of ceramics “I’d rather have Oxinium everywhere”

“Can’t,” she said “It’s not in the budget”

“Darn I suppose as Phase Two of the research project you’ll be wanting to cremate me?”

“Of course,” she said “It’s essential” She paused ever so briefly “Oh, I had Dr Garcia and his faht,” she said casually

“That was nice of you” I keptOxinium joint surfaces

“Carmen, his wife, is really funny-she’s like this over-the-top, self- version of the fiery Latina She acts out the stereotype, and then she steps back fro up and down the face of a giant wave” She sot to be the world’s cutest baby”

“Make you want to have one?”

She looked at me sharply “Good God, no,” she said “Made h I ht” She straightened the stack of brochures “You weren’t over in North Hills last night by any chance, were you?”

“Me? What would I be doing in North Hills?” My question wasn’t a lie, exactly, but it sure wasn’t the truth

“I don’t know I just wondered” Did Miranda have ESP? Was she that attuned to me? “I went out to pick some mint for the tea, and I heard a car start up Then a truck like yours did a U-turn and drove past”

“Huh,” I said as casually as I could “Lot of trucks like mine in Knoxville”

“Guess so I called your na to invite you to come in and join us You’d have enjoyed it”

“Maybe we can all get together soht, I told round, “I could use your co”

&nbs