," Mo said. "I want to dress him in a
red and yellow medieval costume and take pictures. He uses long sticks.
They extend his arms and make him seem more like a dancer than a
juggler. So fluid and precise at the same time . . . "

"All you need is the costume," Joe said.

"And my nephew. He's going to school in North Carolina." She drank and
smiled to herself. "You've changed," she said. "You look calmer. What
happened to PrettyLocks? I can't remember her name."

"Rhiannon. She went back east to see her father." He changed the
subject. "Speaking of fathers, how is yours?"

"Rolling along," she said. "We're going to get together at my sister's
over the holidays."

"I'm planning to visit Kate," Joe said. "Maybe we should get together
at the Caffe Ladro . . . " Mo smiled noncommittally, and they parted on
a friendly note. She hadn't said anything about Rob Wilcox and he
hadn't asked. He and Mo were going to connect with work and art, it
seemed. The personal, or the intimate, would stay in the background.
Nothing wrong with that, Joe said to himself as he walked home.

Several days later the phone rang. Joe picked it up on the second ring.

"Hi, Joe."

"Max! Hey, how are you?"

"Good. The reason I'm calling is: I got a call last week from a woman
asking if she could come see Stone Man."

"Rhiannon," Joe said.

"Yeah, Rhiannon. She said that she saw the picture of Stone Man at your
place."

"So, what happened?" Joe asked.

"She showed up. She was great. She made a drawing of Stone Man and hung
out for awhile." Joe heard familiar music in the background.

"What's the music?"

"Chesapeake Bay sea chanteys--the cassette was in your truck."

"Ha, ha. That's what I thought. The banjo player is an old friend of
mine. I listened to that tape all across the country. There's a song on
there about how you're counted a lucky drudger if you ever get your
pay." He sang the words.

"Right," Max said.

"So, did you like her? Rhiannon?"

"Yeah. She said she'd come back in two weeks and cook me a decent meal
if I wanted. She was critical of the kitchen--like a little countess or
something."

Joe laughed. "Her father's a chef, I guess. You lucky drudger! You
remember my maxim about what to do when you're really attracted to a
woman?"

"Tell her," Max said, and added, "where's my quarter?"

"I'll invest it for you. She's the real thing, Max." Joe paused. "When
you see her, tell her Sumoko and Batman are spending a