"I don't do any 'hanging out' as such, but if I want dinner or a glass of wine, I usually go to a tavern in my neighborhood called Rosie's. The owner's a mama bear, which means I can eat without being hassled by guys on the make."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Not so's you'd notice," I said, slipping into the vernacular. Better not to let her venture too far down that path. I glanced over at her. "If you don't mind my asking, have you been in trouble before?"

She turned to look out the passenger-side window. "Depends on your point of reference. I went through drug rehab twice. I did six months in county jail on a bad-check charge. By the time I got out, my finances were in the shitter so I declared bankruptcy. Here's the weird part. Once I filed? I got a ton of credit card offers in the mail and all of them were preapproved. How could I resist? Of course, I ran those up, too. Thirty thousand bucks' worth before the gates clanged shut."

"Thirty thousand for what?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. Gambling, drugs. I blew a bunch at the track and then went to Reno where I played the slots. I sat in on some high-stakes poker, but the cards were running cold. Not that I'd quit because of that. I figured I could only lose so many times before the game turned around and started working my way. Unfortunately, I never reached that point. Next thing you know, I was broke and living on the streets. That was 1982. Pop moved me into his house and then he cleaned up my debts. What about your vices? You must have one!" "I drink wine and the occasional martini. I used to smoke cigarettes, but then I gave that up."

"Hey, me, too. I quit a year ago. Talk about tough."

"The worst," I said. "What made you quit?"

"Just to prove I could," she said. "What about other stuff? You ever do coke?"

"Nope."

"Ludes, Vicodan, Percocet?" I turned and stared at her. "I'm just asking," she said.

"I smoked dope in high school, but then I straightened up my act." She flopped her head to one side and said, "Snore." I laughed. "Why snore?"

"You live like a nun. Where's the friggin' joy?"

"I have joy. I have a lot of joy."

"Oh, don't be so defensive. I wasn't judging you."

"Yes, you were."

"Well, okay, maybe a little bit. I'm mostly curious."

"About what?"

"How you make it in this world if you give up living on the edge."

"Maybe you'll find out."

"I wouldn't bet on that, but one can always hope."