Phil and Teri smiled weakly.

“I know, I know,” said Lucky. “Too good to be true, isn’t it?”

“Would you excuse us for a moment?” asked Teri.

“Sure. I’ll just grab something to nosh on until dinner, if that’s all right with you?”

“Please, help yourself.”

They kept their feeble smiles until Lucky went to the kitchen.

“He can’t stay here,” Teri harshly whispered.

“I don’t think we have a choice,” said Phil. “We agreed to allow him into our home.”

“But I thought that meant an altar or an idol or something like that. Isn’t that normally how it works? Your parents had a god, right? You should know.”

“There was an idol. Once a month, they sacrificed a dove to it, I think.”

She glared.

“What? They didn’t involve me in it. It was only a minor pact with a minor god. Just something to keep the house from needing repairs.”

“I don’t want him in my house,” she said. “You have to tell him.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because it was your idea to do this.”

Phil said, “But when I changed my mind, you’re the one who said we should do it. Remember the cat? The freakin’ miracle cat?”

“I wouldn’t have had a miracle cat if you hadn’t put the idea in my head in the first place.”

“We both accepted the deal,” said Phil. “We can’t just tell him to leave. It could be dangerous. One month, my dad decided it wouldn’t hurt anything to put off a sacrifice by a day. By next week, the house was infested with termites, the plumbing backed up, the fireplace started belching sulfur into the living room, and all the carpet became moist and moldy.”