At this point, we were all shifting uncomfortably on tired feet–even Zlottie who had been granted a dispensation.

Later it became clear Jessie was the rat who shyly shoved the jar under Carrie’s nose, but Grettie never held it against her as far as I know. As far as I know, The Gret was quite satisfied with how everything turned out. For one thing, the little Git was always different around Carrie Anne. The two have some kind of understanding which works out fairly well for everyone. The little girl and her fat dad were too intense to be together all the time and having the kid around–as troubled as she was and even if it were sometimes more than a week at a time–still seemed like almost nice vacations for all of us.