Taylor arrived long before he had promised. The temp office had told him that they had no new listings and so he had turned back as quickly as he’d come. Aria felt like they were occupying two different worlds despite their physical proximity. Taylor, who didn’t mind the surface chitchat that took place between them on their way back to the car lot, was oblivious to the distance between them.

When they arrived back at the lot, there was a commotion taking place. Aria and Taylor watched at a distance, sensing the tension in the air. Ciarra was screaming, “Get the fuck outta here you sick fuck,” as she threw a handful of dirt in the direction of a man who had parked his Chevy Beretta on the street just outside the lot. The man wore an ill-fitting flat-brimmed hat over a mullet. The top of his too-tight jeans was hidden beneath the bottom of a loose-fitting gym tank that he obviously wore to show off his muscles. He stalked toward his car in a rage. His cowboy boots kicked up dust under his angry footsteps.

Ciarra continued to cry and scream at him and throw rocks long after he was out of range. When he drove away, she got into the purple van, slammed the door and sobbed against the steering wheel.

Taylor and Aria walked with trepidation through the gate toward the white Land Cruiser. Luke called out to them before they reached it. Palin came bounding up toward them, her tail wagging and her ears pinned with elation, curling her body like a fish under their hands.

Aria coddled Palin with endearments, ecstatic to see her again and feeling the heaven of being so obviously wanted by someone. They went over to sit with Luke in the doorway of his tent, leaving their legs just outside the door instead of taking their shoes off. Luke smelled of campfire smoke and sweat. He had obviously not taken a shower in a long time but was oblivious to his own stench. “Dude, that was off the hook,” he said referring to his recent travels. “There were so many people there, dude. There were bonfires every night and dancing and chanting and just magic people, you know?”

Taylor took the bait and started asking him questions. Even though Aria was barely listening, Luke spilled the details of his journey that he so obviously wanted to tell the both of them as if they were listening equally.