She bent to his valise, snapped it shut and leaned to blow out the candle stub. In the dark she said, “You don’t need to tell me how to act. But I got to get my stuff, we’re going to run.”

“That’s what I need the time for. I figure better me than you. Won’t be anybody expecting me there. At least I hope not. But you got to tell me where it is and how it’s laid out.”

She stood silent in the dark a moment and then said, “I got no reason to trust you.”

“It’ll save us time and trouble, we go on what we got right here. Outside of that, there’s nothing I can say.”

“It’s a pile of money.”

“It’s not your money I’m after.”

“I guess I know that. I guess that’s what bothers me.”

He picked up the valise and knocked it against his knee. “Maybe,” he said, “for right now you just got to have faith. The rest, we can sort out later. But I figure we already used up the time we got. So, are we going or what?”

“Boy Jesus, I hope I’m doing the right thing.” And stepped against him and held the top of his head with her hands and kissed him. Still holding him she told him where she’d lived and described the house inside and out and how her room lay regarding the streets front and back and the yards that grew around it and what to look for when he got inside and what to ignore. And how to go from there rough and quick to the station. Then both stood silent.

“I better get going,” he said

“You just make it to the station quick as you can.”

“I’m not going to run off on you.”

“I’ll see you there then.”

“Don’t even worry about it. Comes time to board, I’ll be the one right behind you, my hand in the middle of your back to help you up.”

“You better be there.”

“I’ll do her.”

She reached and took his head again, this time slipping her fingers deep into his hair and then turning and twisting them to raise him on tiptoes even as his knees swooped. Blood in his eyes, tears breaking onto his face. Her face close to his, that breath clean hot over him. She said, “You don’t make that train, I’ll hunt you down and shoot you.”

“I guess you’d have to stand in line.”

She kissed him. “Don’t you fuck with me.”