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be.”
    “Okay.”
    They drove the rest of the way home in silence as Anita tried to think of how to get her hands on enough money to buy cookies or ice cream. The child certainly deserved it, after the day she’d had. Anita couldn’t ask Bunny for help again, not so soon; Bunny had treated them to lunch at the Anchor just last week, and when Anita got home, she’d found twenty dollars stuffed into her purse. Bob didn’t get paid for another week, and old Marv Vernon made it very clear he didn’t give pay advances.
    She steered Dooley’s little car into the Wayside’s parking lot. Their Caprice was still there, but with luck Roy had cut Bob off or he’d run out of whatever money he’d scrounged and was already home. She helped Crystal out of the car and brought her inside.
    “C’mon now, Anita, you know I can’t let you bring a kid in here,” Roy said with embarrassment. He knew how things were with them.
    “Is Bob gone?” Anita retreated to the open door, as though their being on the threshold would do Roy any good if an Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agent came by.
    “Yeah. Hack took him home.” Roy held out the Caprice’s car keys.
    “How bad was he?” Anita asked, taking them.
    Roy shrugged. “He was walking.”
    “He didn’t leave any money behind by any chance?”
    “No. I’m sorry, Anita.”
    Anita shrugged, trying to look like it didn’t make a difference. Roy knew it made a difference, but she had her pride. “That’s okay. Would you give these to Dooley?” She handed the Subaru keys to Roy. Dooley was nowhere in sight, but Anita figured he was there someplace; his habit of spending huge amounts of time on the toilet working his crosstiks was legendary.
    “Sure thing,” Roy said. “You be careful out there.”
    She led Crystal over to the Caprice. It looked like there wasn’t going to be any ice cream this evening. Anita would figure some way to make it up to the child. If they were lucky, Bob would already be passed out in the bedroom, sleeping it off. Anita reached over to fasten Crystal’s seat belt, bowled over by the smell of mildew. The fucking car leaked like a sieve, and the air freshener hanging from the rearview mirror was pure wishful thinking.
    Anita drove up Chollum Road, past Bunny and Hack’s house, past Adams Street and Washington Street, then turned left into the spotty gravel and deep potholes that passed for Franklin Court. In their side yard she yanked on the emergency brake with all her strength. Two days ago the car had slipped out of park for no reason while she was under the carport hanging out laundry. The Caprice had rolled halfway down to the corner before she could catch it and haul up on the hand brake. It might be a piece of junk, but they sure as hell couldn’t afford another one if something happened to it. Bob was supposed to take a look at the transmission, but there was an excellent chance hell would freeze over before he got to it—that or pigs would fly. For some reason the thought made Anita smile. She must be getting punchy.
    Anita hurried Crystal to the kitchen door, and when she opened it, a gust nearly blew it off its hinges. Anita yanked the door closed as fast as she could, but the floor was scattered with pine needles she’d clean up later. A needlepoint sampler hung on the kitchen’s far wall, GOD WATCH OVER THIS HOUSE AND ALL WHO LIVE WITHIN. It was a wedding gift from Anita’s grandmother. Privately Anita had her doubts about whether the Lord was keeping up His end, but she wasn’t about to voice them; they had problems enough as it was. Her mother used to tell her,
If you don’t see the Lord’s handiwork in everything around you, for heaven’s
sake keep it to yourself
.
    But maybe there was something to it after all, because there were four overflowing grocery bags sitting on the kitchen table. Bunny or Hack had been here. Anita’s eyes teared up, and she reached blindly to help Crystal take off her raincoat so she