the other children."
"I know," said the librarian. "I think it's better when children play together, too. But as long as he keeps to himself, better to have the company of a book than no company at all, don't you think?"
"Oh, yes," said DeAnne. "Well, I didn't mean to trouble you. And I can't wait to tell Stevie's father about the blue ribbon. I wonder where it is!"
"Well, of course it was given to Mrs. Jones to display in Stevie's classroom. They usually keep them there until the end of the year, and then send them home with the student who won."
DeAnne made her polite good-byes and left, feeling much better. Except that Stevie hadn't told her the truth about his project. Was it possib le that he was still trying to make his parents feel bad about putting him in this school? Was it possible that he was refusing to let them know anything good about his experience there, so that they'd continue to feel guilty? That just didn't sound like Stevie, but what other explanation could there be? He must be so angry.
For the first time DeAnne wondered if they shouldn't perhaps find a therapist who could talk to Stevie, who could help him find his way through this thicket of problems. Imaginary friends. And now lying. She called Step at work and he agreed not to be late tonight.
None of Step's usual rides would be able to take him home today- not if he was leaving at five, because none of the programmers ever left until well after seven. So he hitched a ride with two of the phone girls, the ones who took orders for Eight Bits Inc. software on the 800 number. All the way home he kept thinking that there was something strange about the drive, and it wasn't because of the two girls chattering in the front seat or the fact that in the back of a Rabbit his knees were up around his ears. Not until they pulled up in front of his house and he realized that the lawn was overgrown and very badly in need of mowing did it occur to him what was so strange. It was daylight! In the two months that he'd been working at Eight Bits Inc., he had never once come home in daylight.
He thanked the girls for the ride and came into the house. DeAnne was in the living room, playing the piano while Robbie sang and Elizabeth hooted and beat two rhythm sticks together. The song was "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam."
"Somehow I never thought of this as the sort of song that needed a percussion section," said Step.
"Daddy!" cried Robbie.
"Robot!" answered Step. Robbie ran to him and Step tossed him in the air and caught him.
"Daddy!" screamed Betsy.
"Betsy Wetsy!" answered Step.
"Someday you're going to smack their heads into the ceiling," said DeAnne.
Step tossed Betsy into the air. Then, after catching her, he lifted her up and bumped her head against the ceiling. "Owie ow ow ow!" howled Betsy.
"Don't be a poop, Betsy," said Step. "That didn't hurt at all, I was just teasing."
"Owie ow!" Betsy reached for DeAnne.
"What did I tell you?" said DeAnne.
"Betsy's a poop!" shouted Robbie. "Betsy's a poop! You can bump me into the ceiling, Daddy!"
"Better not," said Step. "Your head might cause structural damage." '
"I don't mind!" insisted Robbie.
"I can't believe you came home so early," said DeAnne.
"I said I would, when you asked me to," said Step.
"I never thought it would be a quarter after five," she said. "Or were you fired?"
"Not yet," said Step. "Though I may be, after today."
"Because you left at five?" asked DeAnne.
"The lawn is really overgrown," said Step. "I never noticed that before."
"Well, that's because it wasn't as overgrown yesterday as it is today. Why might they fire you after today?"
"Because I finally worked up the guts to go in and make Cowboy Bob give me a copy of that agreement I signed with him."
"You mean you only just got it today? I assumed you had that weeks ago."
"I asked for it right after San Francisco. Well, not right after, or somebody would think that I was doing exactly what I'm doing. But the Friday after."
"And they didn't send it to you till today?"
"They didn't even send it to me today. I had to go get it. And not from Cowboy Bob, in fact, because he wasn't in and his secretary was on lunch and so it was somebody else's secretary who