That’s trouble. The pixies will sour your milk.” “I thought it was hobgoblins who soured milk.” “A dirty lie. Spread by the pixies, no doubt.

As he talked, I thought, “Maybe I’m wrong about the guy.” Put him with someone like Anna Gunderson, a nice woman who has suffered a great tragedy, and his empathetic side came out. And then I realized he was faking it.