That fall we took delivery of a package for the neighbors while they were away. Once she had determined that they were back, my wife took the package over to them. The front door was left open, so she rang the bell and stood in the entry waiting for someone to appear, but it was Chibi who came to greet her rather than the lady of the house. My wife was stunned. Chibi, who had been coming over to our house every morning and every night for who knows how long and had never let out a sound, now, for the first time, opened her mouth and began expressing herself at great length. The content of her
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