"I never met a bear," she says dryly, willing to keep that wink a secret. If he wants to pretend he's serious as a heart attack, she guesses he can. It's nothing that actually matters--who cares what he means? "We ate littler animals. Deer, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, squirrels... Stuff like that. Once, Daryl caught a snake."

It's an accident that she says his name, and in the moment it catches up with her, a wave of homesickness hits her. He's on another planet. You can't miss anybody there.

Yes, I can. I do miss them--all of them.

Then you have to stop. You can't be that sad. There's a war.