to toast my brother's twenty-first birthday. It's in a few days. He died three years ago."

She saw Frances's inevitably stricken face.

"It's okay," she told her quickly. "We weren't close."

People usually looked relieved when she told them that, but Frances's face didn't change at all.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

"It's fine. Like I said, we really... didn't get on." Zoe tried to clarify it for her. Don't stress! You're off the hook.

She remembered her friend Cara, the day after Zach's funeral, saying, "At least you weren't close." Cara was really close to her sister.

"What was your brother's name?" asked Frances, as if this was somehow important.

"Zach," said Zoe, and the name sounded odd and painful in her mouth. She heard a roaring sound in her ears and felt for abottles alongside, like business-class seats thoughtfully arranged for a long-haul flight.

Masha, Yao, and Delilah sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, along with the three members of the Marconi family and the tall, dark, and handsome man.

"Welcome, please join the circle," Masha said as more people filed into the room behind Frances.

Masha wore a long white sleeveless satin and lace dress somewhere between a wedding dress and a nightgown. She'd made up her eyes, so that they were even more prominent. Yao and Delilah, extremely attractive young people, looked almost ordinary and washed-out next to this celestial being.

Within a few moments, everyone was there. Frances was seated with Heather on one side, and young Ben on the other. She wondered how Ben was feeling. Probably missing his