We come to Kingman and Jesse pulls into a filling station. He makes me check the oil. He makes me check the tires. Finally he says, She’s all yours, and hands me the keys. I get in the driver seat and start the engine. Headlights on, I say and pull the knob, brake off. I step on the clutch pedal push the stick to 1 and ease onto the highway. I give it gas and push the stick to 2 then 3. No faster than sixty, Jesse says. Aye aye Captain, I say.

I drive all the way to Nevada and across the top of Hoover Dam. I go slow when I need to and fast when I need to. I keep the car between the lines even when it’s narrow. Jesse has me turn into the parking lot of a casino by Lake Mead. He tells me and Johona to wait while he goes inside. Johona asks what he’s doing. I tell her he’s dipping. What’s that? she says. Lifting wallets, I say, we need money. Oh, she says.

Jesse comes out and tells me move over he’s driving now. We skirt the lake and the stars look like they’re floating in it. Then there’s Las Vegas. We drive real slow down the Strip. It’s got lights in more colors than I know to name. They scamper like mice around signs and up the sides of buildings. Jesse puts the windows down and Johona sticks her head out and howls like Wolfman Jack.

Jesse stands by and lets me check us into the motel. I do it just right. He don’t have to say nothing. When we get to the room he turns his pockets out and his take from the casino spills on the bed. Did you really steal that? Johona says. Who told you that? Jesse says, I won it. Johona knows he’s lying but she don’t care. He counts the bills. How much did you get? Johona says. Close to two hundred, Jesse says. So can we go out and have some fun? Johona says. Just to eat, Jesse says, we’ve got to be careful. I say hot dogs and Johona says pizza. Jesse says we’ll get hot dogs tomorrow night. It’s him and her against me.

The pizza place is full of noisy people. Jesse lets me play pinball and watch the man toss the dough. How I eat my slices is skin the cheese and lick the sauce off the crust. Jesse and Johona talk about Monsieur Beaumont. Jesse’s meeting him tomorrow night. I told him about you, he says to Johona. He wants me to bring you along.