wanted to. And she might want to. There was an entire night ahead to get through; shelving books would get boring after awhile. So, she could hang pictures, put away clothes, maybe even cut her hair if she got up the nerve. That ought to take her until at least midnight. Then a movie. Then sleep. Maybe.

Peaches was dehghted to be getting out. She took off toward the car in a cross between a trot and a roll, looking like a fiirry, stubby-legged barrel. Jenny actually had to hoist her into the back seat.

**You're pathetic," she said affectionately.

Peaches took up her usual position, her nose poking out the partially open window, her ears blown back by the wind, as Jenny, singing along with the radio, drove them into Rimrock. As usual, the road in was deserted, so Jenny was surprised to see so few parking places once they arrived in town.

The spots in front of the grocery store were all taken, so she drove up two blocks, then around, and finally found one in front of the card shop. "Come on, Peach. We're here."

A faint snore emanated from the back seat. Peaches was asleep.

Jenny shook her head, then looked around. The car wasn't in the shade. But she wouldn't be gone long and there was a breeze. If she left the windows down. Peaches would be fine. Besides, she remembered that the grocery store had three round stickers on its doors. One had a cigarette, one had a pair of bare feet, the third had the silhouette of a dog.

All of them had diagonal red bars through them. Peaches couldn't go in anyway.

Jenny rolled all the windows down halfway, then shd out of the car and closed the door as quietly as possible so Peaches wouldn't wake up and whine to come with her. The dog didn't budge; maybe she'd sleep the whole time. Jenny hoped so. Peaches loved a drive, but being left in the car, even for five minutes, made her howl as if she'd been abandoned for good.

The last time Jenny had been in the grocery store, she'd been the only customer there. Today it was actually crowded. Not jammed like the supermarkets she was used to, but there were enough people in the aisles to make it tricky getting her cart around. She kept an eye out for familiar faces, then realized there wasn't anyone she really wanted to see. That was when she saw Dean.

He was walking by outside, and as he glanced in the window, Jenny waved to him. He stared at her so long, she started to think he'd forgotten who she was. Finally he raised an arm and pointed to his watch, as if he didn't have time to stop. Then he turned and left.

Jenny shrugged. She didn't want to talk to him anyway. He seemed kind of aloof. But after he'd gone, she felt more alone than ever.

Bumping her way through the aisles, she bought fruit, eggs, frozen waffles, chocolate chip ice cream, cheese and crackers, hamburger meat and rolls, shced turkey, salad makings, and a chicken to cook