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dueling? Did someone forget Halloween was a month ago?” Juniper asked.
    “Believe it or not,” Glory said, “they’re pirates. I’m hosting their wedding. I cooked the food, decorated the cake, and I’ve hired some kids to serve. You’re certainly under no obligation to, but if you’re interested in earning a little money, I’m sure the servers would appreciate the help.”
    The girl stared. “How much money and would I get to keep it?”
    “Ten dollars an hour and of course.” Glory waited for the smile. It made a brief appearance, then winked out.
    “Okay, I’ll do it.”
    “That’s generous of you, Glory,” Caroline said. “Say thank you, Juniper.”
    “Thanks,” she mumbled.
    The three of them walked into the house and stopped at the butcher-block kitchen counter. Glory introduced everyone. “Robynn, can you find Juniper a white shirt and an apron?”
    “Sure thing, Mrs. S.” Robynn held out a full trash sack. “Mind taking this bag out to the green cans out back? Make sure you put the lid back on or the javelinas will get into it.”
    “Javelinas?”
    “Wild pigs. They’re everywhere around here.”
    “I know what they are,” Juniper said. “I didn’t think they’d be out in broad daylight. That’s all.”
    Robynn gave her a startled look. “Okay. There’re white shirts in the box on the couch. Aprons are underneath the shirts.”
    Juniper took the trash sack and went out the door. That left Caroline and Glory standing there on the old pine floor that creaked in places and had valleys from decades of traffic flow. Glory walked Caroline back out onto the porch. They looked at each other and Glory said, “Don’t you start. Those kinds of tears are catching. I can’t afford them or the headache that follows.”
    “I miss him so much, Glo,” Caroline said.
    Glory looked across the reception tables to the white oak. She’d turned down two photographers from Germany who asked to photograph it today. Sometimes the tree felt to her like a witness who’d taken the stand but then refuses to talk. She and Dan had picnicked there on nice days. “I’m getting used to it.”
    Caroline blew into a tissue. “So much bad in this world and a good man dies so young. What the heck’s the point in that?”
    “Dan would tell you God has his reasons.”
    Caroline sniffled. “I tell you what. I feel like ripping God a new one. Hey! I finally found a pen with ink in it. You know all this, but I have to say it anyway.”
    She recited the speech Glory had heard over the years. Not much had changed in the wording, or for the kids it protected. Every time she heard it, Glory felt there ought to be a license required to procreate.
    “Sign at the flags. Here’s a voucher for you to buy the poor kid some decent clothes and essentials at the nearest Target.”
    On my next workday, Glory thought. She signed the papers and handed the voucher back. “Do I need this since she won’t be here long enough to use it?”
    “It’ll be easier if you just keep it with all the papers,” Caroline said. “If it gets lost, I have to fill out eighty-five forms. If the county cut down on the paperwork, they could hire a dozen case managers.”
    “I’ve got a box full of Levi’s and T-shirts Juniper’s welcome to. So what’s her story?”
    Caroline’s cell phone rang and she held up a finger while she answered it. “What? Come on, it’s a national holiday. I haven’t even had lunch and it’s after four. All right. But you’re paying for the speeding ticket.” She pocketed the phone. “Sorry. Happy Thanksgiving, right? It is still Thanksgiving?”
    “It is. Same to you, Caroline. Guess we’re both working today. Do you ever get a vacation?”
    Caroline’s flinty laugh revealed her past with cigarettes and her present with late-night alcohol. “Let’s not even go there.”
    Glory heard Gary calling her name. “I hate to rush off like this, but I have to get back to the wedding. Could you just give