Jody didn't take her eyes off the TV. "Huh? Oh, okay. You can let her out if she wants to."

Pamela pressed her lips together, not moving from the Lazy Boy. "I can't."

"You can't what?"

"I can't let her out. I can't open the door."

Jody kept staring at the set. "Oh, crap! Okay, wait for the commercials, then I'll do it."

Pamela waited.

When a slick-haired man came on the screen demonstrating a food slicer, Jody dragged herself up and slid open the patio door. Star bounded out into the twilight of the yard, heading straight for Grandma Madge's flower beds. Pamela waited for her to come back, but when Star finished her business, she merely turned her head and looked back at Pamela.

Jody reached for her purse. "Go ahead, kid. She wants you to play with her." Jody dug into her purse and pulled out an orange-and-white rubber ball. "Here, you can play–. Oh, I guess you can't."

"Sure I can. I'm a good soccer player." She wasn't sure it was true because she'd never played kick ball with anyone else, and never outside, but she'd had a lot of practice in the house.

"Good. So go outside. You're giving me the creeps sitting there watching me watch TV. Go on out!"

"But … I'm not allowed to go outside."

"Whaddya mean, not allowed? By who?"

By whom, Pamela thought, recognizing Grandma's voice in her head, "By Grandpa."

"You heard what West said about him. He won't bother you any more. Come on, haul your skinny butt out of here before you drive me nuts."

"Thank you," said Pamela. She nudged the light switch with her nose, illuminating the yard. As she stepped over the door track and onto the concrete step, she decided that Jody was the nicest person in the whole world. Next to Star, of course.

Jody returned to her vampires. Star and Pamela whiled away the time playing kick ball and exploring the dark corners of Grandma's garden whenever Star missed a kick, which wasn't often. Around ten-thirty, Star ran to the gate to the front lawn. Pamela heard Grandpa's car pull into the driveway. She ran back through the patio door, hoping Grandpa hadn't seen her in the yard.