She and her sister had been sent to Sunday School two years ago so they could get a taste of it all: Heaven, Jesus, ice cream socials, etc. Both girls now spooned Hershey's on the cheap vanilla ice cream in the church basement on Sundays and considered pictures of the holy crew, including angels flying in a sky the same soft blue as L.A.'s.

Dot did not waste time on the religious aspect of Sundays, as she did not waste time on the academic aspect of weekdays. Her instincts were sharp, her mind absorbent. "The more you know, the better you get by," was Dot's philosophy. Cassie wanted to know everything, but deeply. She figured she got by. She lived on a round earth and walked in straight lines. The world could not require more than that. Pushing her thoughts and strong feelings through a lifetime was going to be tricky, however. Cassie assumed that.