Nick’s wife, Katy, blue-eyed and blond and eight months pregnant with their first, watched her husband with what looked like reverence. Andy couldn’t figure if she was rationally impressed by Nick or maybe a little simple.

“I’m so happy to see him walk in from work and put that gun away,” said Katy. “I know for the rest of the day nothing bad can happen to him.”

Andy saw Karl Vonn go extra quiet when Nick spoke, figured that Karl had seen some of that jail stuff from the other side.

After a brief but elegant prayer of thanks, David leaned his tall thin body back in the chair and looked at the Vonns with a bright-eyed eagerness. Like everything he was about to hear would be interesting. Like he really cared. He sat across from Janelle and Lynette Vonn and listened to their stories from sixth and eighth grades, respectively. Heard about friends, snobs, boys, the plan to get a horse someday. Andy liked the strength in David. The strength it took to care about people. Thought his oldest brother had a kind of glow on him. Andy heard him tell the girls to start diaries as a way of understanding their lives.

“And a diary is always a good place to keep a secret,” David said with a pleasant smile.

“Do you young ladies have secrets already?” asked Katy.

“When they develop secrets,” said David.

“Janelle’s got a secret boyfriend,” said Lynette.

“And you don’t,” said Janelle.

“Girls,” said Karl. “Let’s not talk about all that right now.”

Janelle smiled at David without embarrassment and Lynette looked down at her plate.

“I know a secret,” said Clay. He looked at Karl Vonn. “Have you heard about the international Communist conspiracy to establish a one-world Soviet government?”

“Some, in the papers,” said Karl Vonn. “I’m not really clear on how it works.”