Milk, eggs, some of Carmela s yogurt drinks, beer, some of that lemon soda, mineral water, half a chocolate cake, roast chicken You mean cold cuts No, I mean half a chicken. Mama made it last night. You ve had this recipe before. She rubs it with this hot-smoked paprika she gets from the gourmet store, and then she stuffs it with smoked garlic, and then she Nita s mouth had started to water. You re doing this on purpose, she said. Let me raid your fridge. Hey, I don t know, Neets, that chicken breast would be pretty good in a sandwich with some mayo, and I don t know if there s enough for Kit! He snorted with laughter. You really need to get your dad to buy more food when he shops, Kit said. You keep running out on Friday. If he d just KIT!! Kit laughed harder. Okay, look, there s plenty of chicken. Don t bust your gnaester. You coming over later Yeah, after we shop. Bring a spare hammer, Kit said. This job I m doing might need two. Yeah, thanks. Keep everybody out of the fridge for five minutes. See you later, bye! Nita hung up, then stood for a moment and considered her own refrigerator. You know what I ve got in mind, she said to it in the Speech. And you keep having to do it, the refrigerator said. Being inanimate, it wasn t actually talking, of course, but it still managed to produce a sound and sensation that came across as grumpy. It s not your fault you re not as full as you should be, come the end of the week, Nita said. I ll talk to my dad. Do you mind, though It s my job to feed you, the refrigerator said, sounding less grumpy but still a little unhappy. But in a more usual way. Talk to him, will you First thing. And, in the meantime, think how broadening it is for you to swap insides with a colleague every now and then! Well, I guess you ve got a point, the refrigerator said, sounding more interested. Yeah, go ahead… Nita whistled for her wizard s manual. Her book bag wriggled and jumped around on the counter as if something alive were struggling to get out.