Car still being reanimated so caught a ride into town with my wife, later in the morning than I usually leave. Because of this, I had time to walk Gamma to school. She was ready on time, didn’t need any nagging at all. She was awfully quiet at one point, upstairs in her room. It turned out she was watering her plants.

Are you ready to go, I asked her.

Look at you, she said. Are you sure you’re not a secret agent?

What are you talking about?

Look at yourself in the mirror, she said. I looked. I was wearing new sunglasses I had picked up in Venice. Maybe I do look a little like a secret agent, I thought. My mood elevated significantly.

We walked past the neighbor’s house with the stupid dog on the way to Gamma’s school. It came out and barked at us. Go to hell, you stupid moron German shepherd, I said. It kept barking and snarling and heaving itself against their fence to get at us.

Hello Gypsy, Gamma said. How are you today, Gypsy? Everything okay Gypsy?

The dog stopped barking. Do you know what the dog’s name is, she asked me.

I’ll bet it’s Gypsy, I said.