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“Hello,” the ghost said, dumbly.

“You’ve had quite the adventure with my son, haven’t you?”

“Your son broke into my house!”

“Did he?”

“Yes! He came through the back door at night. And when that didn’t satisfy him, he bought the entire property so he could break in legally.”

“That does sound like something my son would do.”

“Mom,” Nate said.

“I’m talking with Leo.” Miriam had another bite of pie. “Go on.”

The ghost went on. Finally someone was listening to him. Not just hearing him but listening! He talked about the trespassing. The fact that he’d been named like a pet. The fact that he’d been set on the floor facing the wall like a naughty child. At that, Miriam turned her head and looked at her younger son for a long moment.

“He was knocking things over,” Nate defended his actions.

“He put me OUTSIDE. Unattended. In fox country.”

Miriam turned to her older son. “Jonah, are you getting any of this?”

“Bits.” Jonah’s brows creased. “Something about a corner? And the fox again.”

Richard huffed. “That ghost is uttering nothing but complaints.”

The ghost turned his stitched-on face to the man with the box wine. “I’m filing my complaints with management,” he said with great import.

Miriam laughed. It was a real laugh, quick and warm, and it made the ghost feel… something unfamiliar. He’d forgotten what it was like to be part of a conversation like this.

He drew himself up on his cushion in an effort not to look like someone who’d only talked to a fox in recent years.

Somehow this only seemed to make Miriam laugh again.

“All right.” She set her fork down and folded her napkin beside her plate. “Leo. I’d like to let you out of that ward now. Would that be agreeable?”

“Finally. Yes.”

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen.” She wiped her hands on her napkin, unhurried. “The ward in that toy is mine. I set it a long time ago, and you’re tangled up in it like a knot. I’m going to untangle it. You won’t feel pain. You’ll feel a pull, and then you’ll be standing in my dining room, and the seal will just be a seal again. Is that okay?”

The way Miriam asked, the ghost felt like he should be suspicious, but he couldn’t really find anything in her explanation to object to. “I think that’s okay,” he said carefully.

“Then let’s begin.” Miriam stood and held out her hands. “Nathan. Bring him here.”

Nate pushed his chair back. He picked the ghost up off the cushion with both hands — careful of the seam, which the ghost noticed and immediately decided not to think about — and carried him around the table.

The family watched. Sally was kneeling up on her chair again. Nicky had stopped eating.

Caleb was watching them with a strange intensity.

Miriam took the seal from Nate.

Her hands were smaller than Nate’s.

“Ready?” she asked.

No.