Vera stretched and stared at the ceiling. She felt ready for an adventure, in a wholesome, Winnie-the-Pooh kind of way. For fuck’s sake, she thought good-naturedly. Maybe it’s your turn for the olive branch.

Iris was on Gchat. Vera typed, Hey stranger, you don’t want to hang out today do you?

Instantly, Vera’s phone rang. She typed lol into the chat and picked up. “So yes?”

“Holy shit with the timing, babycakes.” Iris’s voice. It was nice to hear Iris’s voice. “I’m about to visit my uncle in New Hampshire. Do you want to come with me? I’m only going up for a night. We’ll be back tomorrow.”

Vera laughed. “You’re kidding me. New Hampshire? What time tomorrow?”

“I don’t know, probably like six.”

Vera looked around her room, as if an older and wiser person might apparate there to shake their head and say, Just do it. Been a while since you had fun in your life.

“I might be able to switch shifts—New Hampshire? Oh my God, dude! And here I’d just been thinking, ‘Gee, maybe Iris would like to get some fries, I could use some fries, let’s get some fries.’ New Hampshire? Are you even a real person?”

“I’m a spirit of wonders, babycakes. Come on, the government’s about to default! Next week our credit cards will be a thousand percent! Live a little!”

Vera chuckled. She didn’t read the news much anymore, but she had been following the whole debt-ceiling thing. Maybe the country was literally about to go bankrupt? Life was weird. “I think that logic means the opposite, buddy.”

“Whatever. I’ll even get your ticket, how about that? And don’t you know where you live by now? Get fries at a deli and we’ll eat on the way.”

The bus plodded up the FDR as they settled in. “My mom’s coming, too,” Iris said. “We’ll drive with her to the place.”

“Cool,” Vera said. She was thinking, Where will we sleep? and Your mom? Won’t she hate me? Does she even know who I am?!

But. The way life had been going, it just felt too nice to let an old friend take the driver’s seat. “Long as we’re back tomorrow like you said,” Vera said.

“No problem,” Iris assured her. “And don’t worry about my mom. She knows about you; it’s all good.”

“Is it?”

Iris laughed. “You know something? Before I met you, I thought all Davids were assholes, and then you came along and messed that up. Now you’re not a David, so I guess it’s true again. That’s nice.”

“Happy to be of service.”

Iris’s mom looked exactly the same. She said, “Vera! It’s so nice to meet you,” and shook her hand. She spoke to Vera like they’d never met. She and Iris chatted in the front seat on their way to Brookline. Iris’s mom had to pick something up back at home.