Chapter 20

Lucia came through the front door with all three boys in tow, or, more accurately, it looked as though they had her in tow, straining on their leashes as they were. She turned them loose the minute she closed the door, and they hurried over to where we were sitting.

“We’ll take care of feeding them, Lucia,” Marco said.

“Yeah,” I said, “you run along and enjoy your weekend.”

She went to her room, only to emerge a minute or two later carrying an overnight bag. She called the boys over to say good-bye to them and departed.

“She was in a hurry,” I said.

“I think she and her girlfriends are going out with some other friends,” Marco said.

“Yeah, and maybe she was afraid to hang around and get trapped here—it certainly has happened before.”

“Yeah.”

“All right, guys,” I said to the boys in English, “who wants pizza for dinner?”

A chorus of little voices answered, “Me.”