I couldn’t believe I’d never
noticed the duck tile before.
I had been in Vince’s house
several times in the past few months, had stood at the kitchen sink every time
I’d visited, but I’d never taken it in. Bill had spent weeks in the house since
the spring, but he didn’t notice it until I pointed it out to him. His older
brother Vince had exactly three pieces of art hanging on the walls in this
house: a painting of a schooner at sea, a frieze-like metal sculpture of a
bridge, and this duck tile. We’d noticed the painting and sculpture
immediately, but had missed the tile completely. That was odd enough, but it
was odd for another reason; this cute little thing was completely out of
character with the rest of the house.
