Her eyes narrow. “Who suspended you?”

“The university. Dr. White had to report the investigation to Human Resources. It’s university policy. I can’t go to campus or talk to students.”

Madeline throws her hands up in the air. “Oh, did they? Dr. White did? Wonderful. He’s a fucking prince, isn’t he?”

“I’m pissed at him too, but it’s out of his hands.”

“He came here last night. That’s who pulled in. I watched, you know. I watched you all standing in here, drinking champagne and yukking it up. They think you wrote the book, all those English professors with their fancy degrees and easy lives. You all have it made, clapping one another on the back and celebrating your success. While I stand in the cold.”

“Do you think our lives are that easy?”

She’s moved across the kitchen and stands in a corner near the refrigerator, hands on hips. “Just give me the money. Give me the money and we’re square.”

“What do you need it for?” I ask. “Can’t you work . . . do something?”

“Not that it matters, since the money is mine, but do you know what it’s like to try to get a job when you’re considered a missing person? Always looking over your shoulder? Always starting from scratch? Always worried someone will recognize me? I don’t have a degree. I left without that because I had to. Do you think you can get a decent job when you don’t have a degree or real references or any work experience? Have you ever tried to do that?”

“No, of course not.”

“No, you haven’t. I’ve watched my mom do that. Work shit jobs, never get ahead. Always just a little underwater, always running to stand still. One step forward and two back. Or else you depend on some asshole guy to bring home a paycheck. And if the guy does bring home the money, then he thinks he owns you. He can take whatever he wants whenever he wants it. Maybe he can knock you around a little bit.”

“I’m sorry—”

“And these days there are a lot of guys who can’t even be bothered to have a job. They might be more likely to have the cops trailing them home than it is they’ll have a paycheck. It’s women who are carrying all the water. But maybe that’s always been the case.” She shakes her head, her hair flopping from one side to the other. “It’s a shit life. I can tell you that. Like eating dirt every day and trying to be grateful for it. Well, I’m not doing that.”

“If you’d stayed in school—”