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tell Jo that Amanda was in the car.

    The fact didn't seem to faze Jo. She may have had little in common with her cousin, but there was no known hostility between them. Jo climbed into the backseat with me, however, a seating arrangement that may have been unwise.

    Dan had once complained to me that whenever Jo and I got together, we drowned out the rest of the world. Remembering the remark, I endeavored to be quiet. Jo immediately took it upon herself to make up for my silence.

    "Spam," Jo said to Dan as he pulled out of her driveway.

    "What did you get Big Beth for her birthday?"

    Dan frowned. I could tell he was frowning even though I was looking at the back of his head. He frowned whenever Jo spoke to him. "Why don't you call people by their real names for once?" he asked.

    "All right, Daniel," she said. "What did you get Elizabeth for her birthday?"

    "Earrings," he said, flooring the accelerator and racing up the street as if he were late to his own wedding.

    "What?" I asked, amazed. "I got her a present from both of us. You didn't have to get her something."

    "What did you get her?" Jo asked me.

    "An old Beatles album," I said.

    "Beth has a CD player," Daniel said.

    "Elizabeth hates the Beatles," Jo said.

    "Oh," I said. I had been aware of both facts, but there had been a sale on Beatles albums at the store.

    "What did you get her, Bliss?" Jo asked Amanda. Jo had once explained the choice of nicknames to me. Apparently, in India, the Sanskrit word for "bliss" is ananda, which Jo obviously thought was close enough. Her reasoning might have had an element of sarcasm in it.
    Amanda seldom smiled.

    "I didn't have a chance to stop at the store," Amanda said softly. If I hadn't been so overwhelmed with disgust at Daniel's having gone to the trouble to buy Beth a separate gift, I probably would have told Amanda she could put her name beside mine on the album.

    "Isn't anyone going to ask what I got her?" Jo asked, fiddling with the pink tissue paper on the package in her hands. A moment of silence followed.

    "Specimen jars," Jo said finally. "My mom got them from the hospital for free."

    "You can't give Beth that," Daniel said, irritated.

    "Sure I can," Jo said. "She'll think they're crystal."

    "She's not that stupid," Daniel said.

    "She's pretty stupid," I said.

    "And we'll tell her they're crystal," Jo said. "Hey, slow down, Spam. The party won't start until I get there. What's the hurry?"

    "I always drive this fast," Daniel said.

    "Is he always this fast?" Jo asked me.

    "Always," I said without thinking. The question, and answer, might have been innocent enough, to start with.

    Except Jo suddenly burst into hysterical laughter.

    "Always?" she asked, gagging.

    I gave her a hard poke in the side—too late. I didn't have to see Daniel's face. I could feel the vibes. They were bad.

    He knew mat Jo knew he had not performed up to expectations when we had gone to bed.

    "What's so funny?" Amanda asked.

    "Nothing," I said.

    We drove the rest of the way in silence.

    Big Beth met us at the door. Her parents' condominium was on the top floor of a four-story building that overlooked the ocean. It had a view, of course, and it had been built with lots of money. My father had been involved in the construction.

    The soundproofing in the walls between the condos was excellent. Beth had her CD
    player up loud and pumping, and there wasn't one complaint. I handed Beth my gift as we went through the door. A fool could have told what it was.

    Beth glanced at it after saying hello and smiled.

    "It's not a painting, is it?" she asked hopefully.

    "It'll never wear out on you," I said, remembering her CD player. My eyes flickered to Daniel. Whenever someone is madder at me than I am at them, it is hard for me to stay mad.
    Guilt, I suppose. Daniel handed Beth his tiny box, and you would have thought he had given her an engagement ring. She planted a kiss on his cheek, gushing.

    "You shouldn't have," she said.