“Can Barnaby keep the secret safe?” Sophie asked, twisting the rabbit’s soft ears.

“Barnaby is very, very good at keeping things safe,” I said.

“Daddy told me if I talk to the lady in the robe, the house in West Hartford will belong to somebody else.”

“You only have to say what’s true, Sophie,” I said, tucking her little pink sneakers into the outside pocket of the bag.

She pressed her face into the rabbit’s ear and didn’t answer.

I made two grilled cheese sandwiches on white bread and brought them to the table on paper plates.