“Don’t you remember? A cold root beer, and you both snuck an extra show. Even though I said to go straight to bed right after. Don’t that sound about right?”

I put my hand on my head. I didn’t know.

“You got to get this straight. Don’t you want Rowan to come home? If you don’t tell this right, Telly’ll be thinking the wrong thing. Blaming me. And Rowan won’t come back if everyone’s angry.”

“He might.”

“No, he won’t.” She smiled but her eyes didn’t crinkle up the way they do sometimes. “Just think how special it was last night. I was so upset about that disagreement with Telly, I let you and Row have a treat. A show. Sipping away at your sodas.”

My mouth watered. I could almost remember the root beer. It was probably real. And it was much nicer than Rowan outside in the rain. Gloria being friendly, not mad. Me and Rowan got squeezed into Telly’s soft brown television chair. I had my head on Rowan’s shoulder. It was a hard shoulder, but I didn’t mind. I remembered the root beer foam tickling my chin. I burped, and Rowan said, “You’re a turtle. Not a warthog.” We could hear Gloria singing in the bathtub. It was a song about someone being in the kitchen. Rowan whispered straight into my earhole, “Just one more show, Turtle. Come on. She won’t know. We’ll hear when she pulls the plug.”

“Bids? Did you go to bed first?”

Her hands got extra heavy on my shoulders. I closed my eyes and had to think hard. “I fell asleep,” I said. But not with Chicken. I was with Rowan. “In the chair.”

“Without brushing your teeth, miss?” Her eyebrows were up, but she didn’t look angry.

That was a mistake. I forgot to fit it into the story. I looked down at Gloria’s feet. Her toenails were painted purple.

“That’s okay, darling. And—and when you woke up? Just tell me the truth, Bids.” She was talking fast, and when she took her hands away I could see they were all shaky.

“And when I woke up.” I thought and thought of a good answer. One that wouldn’t make Gloria frown. “When I woke up, he was just gone.”

She hugged me. Full and tight. “Oh, you are such a smart little girl. So very clever with details. And an excellent memory! Just like your mother.”

It felt good being squeezed by Gloria, but I wanted to cry. Me and Rowan might’ve watched a show in Telly’s chair, but it didn’t matter. Rowan still went out the sliding door. I knew he went to find Carl, and I had to keep that secret because I told Rowan I would.