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At least an interesting one, he said. But he didnt pursue it, and she was grateful. When the coffee had settled, Melville strained it and poured each of them a cup. He brought the mugs over to the table, taking a seat across from her. He hadnt been to the store, so there was no milk or sugar. Hed been meaning to go for days, he said, but he hadnt gotten around to it. Good thing we both drink our coffee black. So what happened between you two? she asked. Why in the world would Finch throw you out? Its complicated, he said. She didnt fill the silence. It was a trick shed learned as a therapist. If you dont talk, the patient will. But it didnt work on Melville, or at least not the way she had hoped. He was better at this than she was. And hed always been comfortable with silence. You met Jessina, he said, changing the subject. I did, she said. Shes quite a character. He tried to smile. Shes good with him, though. Were you unfaithful? She was thinking about the apartment again. Why would you even ask me that? She could tell he was insulted. The truth was, on some level she had been expecting it. He was so much younger than Finch, and the disease was so terrible. She realized she would forgive him for it if it had happened. But it wasnt something you could say. I have never been unfaithful to your father, he said as if wounded. Im sorry, she said. It was something that happened a long time ago, he said. Before you were even born. You didnt even know Finch before I was born, she said. Exactly, he said. I dont understand, she said.

I dont understand either. Maybe it was the , she said. He nodded. It was what hed been hoping. If it wasnt the , it meant that Finch had entered a crossover stage, something that often happened in patients with advanced Parkinsons, where they began to exhibit the signs of Alzheimers. He didnt want to think about that. Maybe it will go away, when the get out of his system, and you can come back. Lets hope so, he said. Just then an ungodly howl started from the back of the house, echoing up the stairway and shaking the walls. What the heck was that? Whatever it was howled again. Zee thought it must be one of the fright tours Salem was so famous for, or maybe one of Mickeys popular attractions. Melville went to the back door and opened it. Then he returned and sat down and sipped his coffee as if nothing unusual was happening. It sounded as if a body were being dragged up the stairs. A moment later a very ded basset hound entered the room. He took one look at Zee and howled again. Zee, meet my roommate, Bowditch. Bowditch, this is Zee. The dog walked over, laid his chin on her jeaned leg, and gave her the most sincere look shed ever seen. Hes begging. Bowditch loves coffee, but its not good for him. She couldnt help laughing. She patted his head, and the dog did a sliding kerplunk at her feet. Im dogsitting, too, he said. I think I just figured that out, she said, still laughing. MELVILLE AND Z EE BOTH DRANK their coffee black, and they both loved dogs.

It was one of the many things they had in common: dogs, the ocean, Myrna Loy movies. They both had a love of dark chocolate and a virulent hatred of lima beans, which Finch adored and asked Melville to cook all the time. Finch preferred cats to dogs, espe cially Dusty, the cat at the Gables. And he didnt share Melvilles passion for the ocean. Melville and Zee would go out together sometimes, on his day off. He would take her up the coast, sometimes as far as the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire. Coming back one moonless night, Melville stopped the boat to look at the sky. Stargazing had once been his hobby, especially in the long months at sea when he was in the merchant marine. He owned a telescope, and he often set it up on their deck at home, finding specific stars and planets, shog Zee and Finch. I always wanted to learn to navigate by the stars, he told them one night. But Im afraid its a lost art. The only place Melville refused to take her on their outings together was the house on Bakers Island, which had been left to her by Maureen. Both he and Finch refused to go there, but Melville would sometimes drop her off on the island on his way out to fish and then pick her up again at the end of the day. Finch didnt understand why she would want to go. He wanted to sell the place, especially if it made Zee sad. He refused to pay the taxes on it. But Melville got it.

It was Melville, finally, who kept the taxes paid and hired someone to maintain the old place, keeping it shuttered but in good shape in case she might want it someday when she grew up and had a family of her own. New life chases away old ghosts, he once told her. SHE STAYED AT M ELVILLES FOR an hour and a half. I have to go, she said at last. I have to pick up some groceries. And some Depends. Walgreens has the best prices, Melville said. How long has he been incontinent? she asked. He shrugged. For a while. You sure you want to come back? she said. Dont even kid, he said. Lets maybe give it a couple of days, she said. Wait until the medicine completely clears out of his system. On her way out the door, Zee walked past Melvilles suitcase. Something akin to an electric shock ran down her spine. She stood stunned and staring. When she could move again, she bent over and picked up the book of Yeats poems. It was right there in the top of his suitcase, its spine jutting out from under a green cableknit sweater. She was surprised she hadnt seen it before. Where did you get this? She stared at him. Its mine, he said, gently but quickly sliding the book out of her hands. It belonged to my mother. It was the book Zee had gone to get from the island the day Maureen killed herself. She would recognize it anywhere. The book was white,

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