Ana blows into the opening of the Hot Pocket while holding it with a paper towel. She pauses, places the pastry down.

“Jesse’s.”

“You slept over? Why?”

Ana regards Jeanette in a manner that makes her suddenly self-conscious. As if Ana knows something isn’t right. As if Ana thinks Jeanette knows more than she’s giving away. As if Ana can see right through her.

“Sometimes I sleep at Jesse’s.”

“Who is Jesse?”

“My babysitter.”

“Will she come for you again?”

“When my mom calls and tells her to pick me up at school.”

“Will she pick you up from school on Monday?”

“If my mom calls her.”

Alternatively, the mother committed some kind of crime and Immigration picked her up. The mom caught a whiff that something was up and left her daughter at the babysitter’s overnight. She’s calling a relative or a friend right this moment to collect her. Someone will show up any minute now. Jeanette is embarrassed by her own problematic thoughts. Good immigrant, bad immigrant? She should know better.

“Did you say all your relatives are in El Salvador?”

“Yes.”

“All of them?”

Ana takes a bite. She chews. She swallows.

“Yes,” she says. “Can I have some juice or water, please?”

Jeanette opens her fridge. A moldy cube of cream cheese. Shredded Monterey Jack. White Cuban bread. She pours Ana a glass of tap water. Feels shame at where her own thoughts go. Does it even matter why ICE picked up her mom? Still, a child at her kitchen table. Still, awful that she never even asked her neighbor’s name. She hands Ana the glass of water.

“I’ll be right back. Just sit tight.”

Jeanette closes the door to her bedroom. She lies back on the bed and balances her laptop on her stomach. Google searches: What happens to children if their parents are deported? A link to Child Protective Services. A link to family detention centers in the region. To lawyer after lawyer after lawyer. Another search: How to find someone detained. An Immigration and Customs Enforcement database that requires an Alien Registration Number for the detainee. No phone number she can find. Lawyer after lawyer after lawyer. A light knock on the door. Ana has to pee. Jeanette shows her the bathroom and makes up her mind that Ana will spend the night.