“Lovely,” Mama said.

“I like it,” Raven said. “Thank you, Dr. Pat.”

Mama smiled at her, happy with her politeness.

“Do I get needles now?” Raven asked when Dr. Pat took her stethoscope out of the bag.

“No, darling, you’re up to date on your immunizations,” she said.

She was relieved. Not because she cared so much about the needles. It didn’t hurt too bad. But Mama always got upset about the medicine.

“I’m only going to give you a wellness exam,” Dr. Pat said. “If that’s okay with you and your mother.” She looked at Mama.

“She’s very well, as you can see,” she said. “But go ahead, if you must.”

Dr. Pat led Raven to the couch. Aunt Sondra wanted Mama to leave the room to give the doctor and Raven a little privacy. Mama walked to the far side of the room with her sister but refused to leave.

The doctor made Raven take off everything but her underpants. Raven hugged her arms around her bare chest. She was a little scared. She hoped the doctor would find her to be very well. Because Mama had said she was.

“She’s a wonderful child,” Aunt Sondra said in a low voice to Mama. “And she looks very healthy. Does she like to walk around the property with you?”

Mama kept her eyes on Raven as the doctor listened to her heart with the stethoscope. “Yes,” she replied.

“Audrey . . . ,” Aunt Sondra said in a quiet voice.

Raven strained to hear.

“You’re doing a marvelous job with her schooling. I’m proud of you, but . . .”

Dr. Pat saw that Raven was listening and asked her if she liked playing outside. “Yes,” Raven said, her full attention on the conversation across the room.

“Please don’t teach her those things you do,” Aunt Sondra said.

Mama turned to face her. “What things?”

“You know what,” Aunt Sondra said, almost in a whisper. “The magic or whatever you call it.”

“I never called it magic,” Mama said.

“Your religion, your obsession—I don’t know what it is or where you got these ideas, but please don’t pull her into it. Living in this isolated way is going to be tough enough for her.”

Dr. Pat talked, trying to keep her from hearing, but Raven ignored her. She used the sharp hearing of her father the raven to stay focused on what Mama was saying.

“What do you mean, tough enough for her?” Mama asked.

“You know what I mean! She won’t fit in. You know how that feels! Don’t you want her to feel comfortable in the world when she grows up?”

“I feel very comfortable in the world,” Mama said. “I have since I stopped trying to please you and Father. Mother was the only one who understood. She let me be who I am.”

“Will you let Raven be who she is?”

Raven’s knee felt funny when Dr. Pat tapped it with the rubber hammer, but Raven kept her attention on her aunt and Mama.

“All parents guide their children,” Mama said. “You did with Josh. You took him to Bible school and church. You educated him according to your views. You raised him to sit on the board of our father’s corporation. How is my parental guidance any different?”

“I didn’t raise my son to be part of our company,” Aunt Sondra said. “He showed clear interest in the business from a young age.”

“Are you certain you didn’t pull him into your obsession with Father’s business—your magic, your religion, or whatever it is you call it?”

Aunt Sondra stared at her with stormy eyes.

Raven smiled. Mama had won. This time, Aunt Sondra hadn’t made her into that weak person Raven didn’t recognize.

Mama walked over and helped Raven get dressed.

“She’s healthy as can be,” Dr. Pat said.

“Would you like lunch before you leave?” Mama asked the doctor. “It was nearly done cooking when you arrived.”

“It smells delicious,” Dr. Pat said.

“It’s a deer,” Raven said. “Mama and I cut it up ourselves.”

Aunt Sondra grimaced. “You kill deer on your property?” she asked Mama.

“Tell the story, Raven,” Mama said.

“It got hit by a car,” Raven said.

Now both the doctor and her aunt looked upset. “You eat roadkill?” Aunt Sondra asked.

“It was still alive, and the person who hit it drove away,” Raven said. “When she died, we brought her home in our truck. We took her out back, and Mama showed me how to cut her into pieces. A lot of her is still in our big freezer.”

“Cutting up the deer didn’t upset you?” Aunt Sondra asked.

“It was sad that she died young,” Raven said, “but I didn’t mind the cutting. It’s better to use the meat than waste it. And Mama taught me all the parts of her body. She called it a biology lesson.”

“How do you know how to butcher a deer?” Aunt Sondra asked Mama.

“I have many talents you know nothing about,” Mama said. She gave Raven a secret look, and Raven returned it. Because only they knew Mama could ask the earth for a baby and get one.

“Would you like a venison sandwich before you leave?” Mama asked the two women.