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Markie."
    Markie, a perpetually moving bundle of muscle and flesh, transformed himself into a little monk, folded his hands, dropped his head, closed his eyes, and said grace perfectly. As always, Packy observed his parents andbrother in prayer, and just as grace ended, brought his hands together, pleased with himself. Sometimes he clapped. He was an excellent clapper.
    "So did you talk Ellie into moving last night? What did you talk about?" Buzz asked before plunging a huge chunk of chicken breast into his mouth.
    He was a world-class speed-eater.
    "That's between me and Ellie," Mel answered with a small smile.
    "Shouldn'tbe any secrets between a husband and his wife," Buzz said, looking at his food.
    "A good friend never breaks a promise of confidentiality," Mel rejoined, still cutting chicken into little pieces for Packy.
    By the time she finished getting Packy's food ready, she knew that Buzz would be done with his dinner. Melanie was accustomed to this state of affairs.
    "Oh," Buzz said. "Then she's agreed tomove."
    "I didn't say that."
    "You implied it."
    "How could you possibly infer that I implied that?" she asked him.
    He was right, of course. This drove her crazy, how he knew her so well that he could tell what she was thinking. Other wives complained that their husbands were out of touch; had no clue what was going on in their minds. For Mel, it was just the opposite. There was nothing she couldhide from him. Sam knew the future. Buzz could "guess," as he called it, what she was thinking.
    Yes, she loved him, and she supposed she loved this about him.
    It's not wise to dwell on why I love Buzz, she told herself. It might remind me of all the things I don't love about him.
    Often what she loved and didn't love about him were the exact same things.
    "You know me, little Mel," Buzz explainedmatter-of-factly. "I just know. I'm glad you convinced her to get out of Dodge."
    "I don't think I convinced her at all," Mel partially broke her promise, although with a feminine strategy. "Men just never understand women. She needed someone to listen to her. She's terrified. To Sam it's all a matter of logic and reason."
    If I tell him some of the truth, then I don't have to reveal the whole truth.
    Buzz gave her a look which clearly asked: So what's wrong with logic and reason?
    She read him. "Did it ever occur to you or Sam that Ellie might not want to make a decision out of fear, even if the situation is truly, logically frightful?"
    "I can't speak for Sam."
    He was finished now. Two full glasses of RC Cola were sloshing around with the chicken in his belly. Mel was just starting on her peas.The chicken breast was cold.
    He slipped down from his chair and layed back on the floor. He lifted his calves up onto the chair, and continued to speak to his wife, looking up at her. He did this every night, claiming he was more comfortable and that it was a good position for digestion.
    She closed her eyes and sighed.
    "And you wonder why Ellie doesn't want to move out of Cleveland with us?" sheobserved.
    "Huh?" he asked.
    "Forget it."
    She was used to his ways. She continued her previous explanation, "Ellie needs time to adjust psychologically."
    "What about you? What do you need?"
    She laughed.
    "I had my dream, remember? Mommy I'm hungry. That was enough psychological adjustment, thank you very much.
    "Besides, I've come up with a great way to put it out of my mind. I just refuse to thinkabout it. We're going to move, and I'm going to help, but I'm not going to think about why. I'm going to make believe we're just moving like anybody else moves. I'm going to tell myself normal-sounding lies like, 'I've always wanted to move to Montana.'"
    "Isn't that called denial, Sweetie?" Buzz asked, then, "Let the baby out of his highchair, wouldya?"
    She did this. In seconds, Packy had slithereddown and was riding horsy on Buzz's chest.
    "Whatever gets me through the night, Buzzy. At least I'm not watering the lawn eight times a day."
    "Sounds