“That’s the last of it, Terry, ” he said. “If the weather warms up much, she’ll need to go back to our place and get some lighter clothes, and she may want some books that didn’t make her first cut. But I think she’s basically covered for the next couple of weeks. ” He sat down on the arm of the nubby green sofa. The red metal box of Dewey’s Erector set lay on the seat. “I can’t tell you how much this means to me. ”

“I know, ” said Terry Gordon. “It’s hard. But I’m glad she’s here. She’s a bright, interesting kid. I’m happy to get the chance to know her better. In my copious free time, ” she laughed. “And I think Suze will enjoy the company—once she gets over the snit she’s in. ”

“Are you sure it’s not going to be a problem for her?”

“I’m sure. It’s just that she’s an only child, and she’s pretty used to getting her own way. I think this will be good for her. And even though she hasn’t said anything, I suspect she’s been getting kind of lonely, especially in the evenings, what with both Phil and me working until all hours. ”

“Tell me about it. I don’t think I made it home for supper two nights in a row all last month. I’m sure Dewey will be glad to have someone to talk to over the macaroni, won’t you, Dews?” He turned to the kitchen doorway where Dewey was standing motionless.

“I guess so, ” she said.

“I should get going, ” he said to Terry. “The train leaves Lamy at six, and I still have to swing by the lab and get my briefcase. ” He picked up his hat and brushed a few tufts of white cat hair off the pants of his dark blue suit.

“Don’t worry about a thing, ” Terry said. “We’ll all be fine. Really. ” She patted his arm. “I’ll stay up here, let you two say good-bye in private. Or what passes for private in this goldfish bowl. ”

She turned to Dewey. “You go on down with your dad—with your papa. I’ll fire up the Black Beauty and make us some Ovaltine, okay?”

“Okay, ” said Dewey. She didn’t move.

Jimmy put his arm around her. “C’mon, Dews. It’s not the end of the world. I’ll be back in a couple of weeks. Walk me to the car?” He held out his hand.

Dewey nodded and took his hand. They walked slowly down the stairs to the road. There were no other kids around, no other people, because it was the middle of a Monday afternoon, and everyone was in school or in the labs.

They stood for a minute on the bottom stoop in an awkward silence. Dewey didn’t know what to say. She was trying very hard not to cry. Papa had gone away before, lots of times. Her whole life. It was an ache she ought to be used to by now. But she never was.

He crouched down so that they were eye-to-eye. “I love you, Dews, ” he said quietly. “I love you more than anything else in the world. You’re my girl. ” He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

Dewey hugged him back fiercely, holding on to him as if she could imprint the sensations of that moment onto herself—the touch of his arms, the smell of his aftershave, the soft scratchy wool of his suit, the warmth of his breath against her ear—to save them for later. She hugged him for a long time, until he finally pulled away, gently, and whispered, “I have to go. But I promise, I’ll be back as soon as possible. ” His eyes shimmered with tears. He kissed her again, once on each cheek, and stood up.

“I’ll write when I can, ” he said. “If I can. ” He brushed his hand across her curls, then got into his green Studebaker and drove down the road toward the Tech Area. His tires kicked up a little plume of dust as he went around the corner, then he was gone.

Dewey stood on the concrete stoop, staring at the road until the dust had settled back to dirt. A tear trickled down her cheek, and she pushed her glasses up and wiped it away with the back of one wrist.

“Dewey?” Mrs. Gordon was at the top of the stairs. She came down, one careful step at a time, as if trying not to make any sudden moves that might startle Dewey. She paused on the last riser, put out a hand, and touched Dewey’s shoulder. Dewey wondered for a moment if Mrs. Gordon was going to try to hug her, and wasn’t sure if she wanted that. But Mrs. Gordon just rested her hand on Dewey’s sweater for a few seconds and squeezed her shoulder a little. “I’m glad you’re going to stay with us, ” she said. “Let’s have some Ovaltine, then we can get you unpacked. ”

Dewey sniffled once, then nodded and turned around, following her up the steep wooden stairs.

“I expect Suze will be home about four, ” Mrs. Gordon said, pouring the Ovaltine from a saucepan on the front burner of the big black iron stove. “But you knew that, didn’t you? I keep forgetting that you girls are in the same class. Except for math? Suze says you take math with another class?” She put two teacups full of the malty chocolate on the table and sat down.

“Yes, ma’am. I do algebra with the high-school kids, ” Dewey said, sitting down in a chair on the other side of the table.

Mrs. Gordon raised an eyebrow. “That’s a big jump, from sixth grade to high school. ”

“I guess so. But Papa started teaching me numbers when I was little. He says I could add before I could read. ” She took a sip. “This is very good. Thank you, Mrs. Gordon. ”

“‘Mrs. Gordon’ sounds so formal, ” she said. “If you want, you can call me Terry. Everyone else does. ”

Dewey thought for a minute. She called Dick Feynman and some of the other scientists by their names, because they were her friends, even if they were grown-ups. But they were all men. Nana Gallucci had told her that it was very rude to call a grown-up woman by her first name. And besides, Dewey was pretty sure that Suze didn’t call her that. “I don’t think Suze would like that, ” she said finally.

Mrs. Gordon chuckled. “Probably not. ” She lit a cigarette and snapped her silver lighter shut with a click. “Tell you what. Officially, I’ll be Mrs. Gordon. But if it’s just us, and no one else is around, Terry is okay. ” She winked at Dewey.

Dewey felt oddly pleased, like she’d just been made a member of a secret club. “Deal, ” she said, and tried to wink back, but ended up just kind of squinting. She wasn’t very good at winking.

Twenty minutes later, Dewey felt the floor shake a little and heard stomping feet on the outside stairs. Suze was home. Dewey reached down and gripped the chair seat with both hands, bracing herself for what might come next. Suze had glared at her all morning in class. “It wasn’t my idea, ” Dewey had wanted to say, but she had kept quiet.

Suze slammed the back door open and dropped her books on the counter. She stood by the stove for a second, looked at Dewey, then opened the icebox door. “We’re out of Cokes, ” she said.

“I know, ” said Mrs. Gordon. “But I made Ovaltine. I saved some for you, on the stove. ” She pointed to the saucepan. “Why don’t you pour yourself a cup, and then we’ll show Dewey your room and get you girls settled. ”

Suze scowled and opened the cupboard with a bang, found a mug, and filled it from the saucepan, spilling some in the process. She did not sit down at the table, but drank it standing up. “Okay, let’s go, ” she said when she was finished, and walked out of the room.

“Oh, dear, ” said Mrs. Gordon. She looked over at Dewey, who just shrugged and stood up. In the living room, Mrs. Gordon picked up the brown suitcase. “Suze’s room is the one on the right, ” she said, pointing down the tiny hallway.

Dewey picked up her Erector set and stood beside the couch, holding the metal box in front of her like a shield. The box was bright red, brand-new, and very heavy. It was a little larger than her arms could comfortably encircle.

“Here, let me take that, ” offered Mrs. Gordon. “It looks like it weighs a ton. ” She put down the suitcase.

“No, that’s okay, ” said Dewey. She clutched the box a fraction tighter, as if it were full of the last eggs of an endangered bird. “I’ve got it. ” She walked a few awkward steps, trying not to stagger under the weight of the box.

“Don’t be silly. ” Mrs. Gordon reached out a hand and touched the edge of the metal box. Dewey didn’t let go. Mrs. Gordon looked at her for a long second, then said gently, “Jimmy gave you this, didn’t he?”

Dewey nodded.

“I thought so. Why don’t you let me take it in and put it on the bed for you? I’d hate to have you drop it. ” She left her hand on the box but didn’t pull any harder. “I’ll be very careful. I promise, ” she added.

Dewey wasn’t really sure if she could make it all the way to the bedroom. And if she did drop the box, it would never be the same. Mrs. Gordon was a scientist. Maybe she understood how important it was. Dewey eased one hand off. When she was sure Mrs. Gordon had the box securely, she let go with her other hand and followed.

Mrs. Gordon carried the box and put it down on the foot of the closer of the two twin beds. Its bright red metal looked out of place against the pink chenille bedspread.

“After you’ve unpacked, we’ll figure out a good safe place where this can live, ” she said. “Maybe under your bed? I think we’ve got a piece of linoleum left over from putting in the bathroom floor. It ought to slide in and out pretty easily on that. ”

Dewey smiled, just a little. Mrs. Gordon did understand. Behind them, in the doorway, Suze sighed dramatically and thumped down the brown paper sack she had been carrying.

“What’s in here, bricks?” she asked.

“Just books, ” said Dewey.

Suze unfolded the top of the bag. Dewey started to say something, started to shake her head no, then shrank away from the protest like a turtle pulling its head back toward its shell.

Suze reached in and picked up a book, riffling the pages with a thumb. “The Boy Mechanic, ” she said, snickering. “Why do you have that? ”

“They didn’t make one for girls, ” Dewey replied. She held out her hand for the book, and after a second, Suze gave it to her.

The bedroom was small and square with thin plasterboard walls painted a waxy yellow. The paint was already beginning to flake a little in the corners, even though the whole building was less than two years old. The pair of twin beds, a nightstand between them, took up most of the space. At the foot of the two beds stood a pine dresser, painted a pale robin’s-egg blue.

“Suze cleaned out the top two drawers, ” Mrs. Gordon said. “So those can be yours. ” She put Dewey’s suitcase down at the foot of her bed, then sat on Suze’s bed and lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke out in a blue cloud. Suze leaned against the window, her arms crossed over her chest.

“If it’s okay, I’d rather have the bottom drawers, ” Dewey said. “I’m not as tall as Suze, and it’s hard for me to stand on tiptoe, because of my leg. ”

“Oh. Oh, of course, ” said Mrs. Gordon. “I’m sorry, I should have thought of that. Suze—let’s move your things up top again. ”

Suze walked across the room and started to pull things out of the bottom drawers, glaring at Dewey. So, Dewey thought. She’d wanted the top drawers to begin with. That made sense. Suze Gordon was the kind of girl who’d always want the top, whatever it was. She was one of the loud runaround kids at school, and bossy at recess, although nobody really listened. She’d probably be even bossier about her room. But Dewey was used to that. She’d lived in other people’s houses most of her life, and boarders never got to make the rules.

Suze pulled an armload of clothes out of the bottom drawer and kicked it shut, then plopped them into the top one in a heap. She stared at Dewey. “So what’s wrong with your leg, anyway?”

“Susan!” Mrs. Gordon said sharply. “What a rude question. Apologize to Dewey this minute. ”

Dewey looked up from her suitcase, a pair of rolled-up white socks in each hand. “It’s okay. It’s kind of better when people just ask instead of staring at me when they don’t think I’m looking. ” She turned toward Suze. “It was an accident when I was a baby. My leg got broken in a couple of places. Papa says I was in the hospital for a month, but I don’t remember. When I got out it wasn’t broken anymore, but it was a little shorter than my other leg, so I have to wear a special shoe and I can’t run very well. ”

She looked at Suze and waited for the other girl to look away first. When she did, Dewey walked over to the dresser and began to line her socks in an orderly row along the left side of the bottom drawer.