I got in late, somewhere in the hazy place between late night and early morning, but the heat had not let up. The inside of the house was just as dark and humid as the outside, and I waded through it as I made my quiet way from the door to the kitchen, fumbling a little until I saw the light peeking from around the corner.

As I said, it was hot, so it figures that my sister would be looking for something cool to drink. She was silhouetted in the light of the refrigerator, wreathed in the vapor pouring off the racks. As she bent to peer at something...