Kyle's bare foot found his mom's calf again. He traced a toe over her skin. She had no more room to pull away, so she left her leg there. She shivered at his touch. She glanced quickly at him, to give him a look of disapproval, and he was looking at her, already, a faint smile on his lips. After a few more seconds he pulled his foot away.

"So, Maddy," Carl said after mostly swallowing the bite of omelet, "Tonight's that meteor shower, right? The one they've been talking about on the news?"

Maddy and Carl had long shared an interest in astronomy. In the early days of their...