"She parked where Chee's car would have been, got out, leaned against the door, and studied the place. The trailer looked as dented, grimy, and decrepit as she re­membered. However, the windows were clean; she noticed, and she credited Jim with that since he was the only occu­pant. The axles, where the wheels would be replaced when time came to move, were covered with canvas to protect them from rain, rust, or whatever would damage such machinery. The little "pet flap" Chee had installed on the bottom of the entry door was still there even though the cat was long since gone."

"The flap revived a memory of how Chee's mind worked. The cat, pregnant and abandoned by a tourist, had been chased up one of the trees shading his trailer. Chee had rescued it. While refusing to adopt it as a pet (which...