Bam. He pounds his hand against the steering wheel.

Miriam doesn't have anything smartass to say. A slow realization creeps up on her: I can't take this guy. He'll crush me like a bug.

"Goddamn assholes," he says.

She narrows her eyes. "What? Who?"

"Men."

"You're gay?" It's the way he says it.

He pivots his head, levels his gaze at her. "Gay? What? No."

"I just thought–"

"Men don't know how good they have it. Men are basically… children. Pigs."

"Pig children," Miriam offers, a quiet addendum.

"We never see what's in front of us. The women that are kind enough to be in our lives, we just treat them like garbage. It's nonsense. Plain nonsense. And men who hit women? Who take advantage of them? Who don't just fail to appreciate what they have but they outright… abuse what's been given to them? My wife – when she left me… I didn't fully appreciate…"

He hits the steering wheel again.

That's when Miriam decides she likes this man.

It's the first time she's felt even the tiniest bit inclined toward anyone in… years. Something about him: sweet, sad, damaged. She knows who he reminds her of (Ben, he reminds you of Ben), but she doesn't want to go there, and she shoves that thought back into the darkest corners of her brain.

And then, she can't help it. She has to know. She has to see. It's a compulsion. An addiction. She offers her hand.

"My name's Miriam."

But he's still fuming. He doesn't take the proffered hand.

Shit, she thinks. C'mon. Grab it. Shake it. I need to see.

"Miriam's a pretty name," he says.

Hesitantly, she withdraws her hand. "Nice to meet you, Lou."

"Louis, not Lou."

She shrugs. "Your truck, your name."

"I'm sorry," he offers. "I don't mean to get pissy. It's just…" He waves it off. "Been a long couple weeks. Just coming down off a backslide from Cincinnati, and have to head down to Charlotte to pick up another load."

He takes a deep breath through his nose, like he's trying to ratchet up his courage.

"Thing is, I've got a few days down there before I grab the next haul. I don't get too many days off, I usually go straight through, but… I was thinking. Maybe you'll be down in that area. It's only an hour south of here. And maybe, if you are in that area, and you have a spare night, well. We could do dinner. A movie."

She puts out her hand. "It's a deal."

He doesn't grab it, and Miriam wonders how bold she'll have to be. Reach up and tweak his ear? She only needs skin to skin to see…

But then he smiles and takes her hand in his own, and –

The lantern room is encased in glass. One window pane is broken out, and the wind howls madly through the gap. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Gray light filters in through the dirty windows and illuminates Louis's face, a face encrusted in dried blood.