Naomi has just arrived. She is still wearing her work clothes, which would pass well in almost any venue that is not strictly formal.
Carol has left the piano and sits next to her. "I imagine you were jabbing folks all day", she says.
"That I was", says Naomi. She seems not quite at ease, not quite guarded, as though she has already made a pact with this place and is only now accepting the terms. Her dark eyes shine with sensitivity and intelligence from behind her glasses. Jennifer brings her a glass of blended tropical juices. She seems almost spellbound as she looks around at everyone seated in the room. "You people are exactly the transformation this place has been needing."
"You've been here before?" says Carl.
"Until I was seven. I knew all about you and Melissa, and your father was determined to keep us apart. Both mom and I hated coming here."
"Is she nearby, your mother?"
"She lives in an apartment in Mission. She doesn't know yet that I know you."
"Are you going to tell her?"
"I believe that's going to be inevitable", she says with a tiny sly smile.
The doorbell rings again. And Jennifer escorts Amanda to sit among us her new best friends...
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