“I don’t think so. I’m going to scrape up a stake tonight if it kills me, and tomorrow Jim and I will be gone.” She swallowed hard. “We’ll have to leave everything.”

“Tonight?” Velvet turned to stare at her. “You’ve gotta be kidding. It’s two-thirty, you’ve got the shakes, and you’re so tired you’re ready to go face first in the concrete. You can’t go out.”

“I’m going. I don’t have a choice. They’re looking for you, Velvet. They’ve gotten to Jim, they’ll get to me. I have to go.” Robby stood and started picking up clothes Velvet had scattered in piles on the floor. “I just have to find something to wear. I’ll be fine.”

“Oh, yeah, sure you will. You’re gonna spend the night in jail, is what you’re gonna do.” Robby hesitated over the leather Velvet had dumped on the bed. “Want to wear it?”

“What? Oh, no. No. I never—”

“Come on, live a little. Jesus, I never met anybody so fucking restrained. You’ll look great, and you’ll blend in a hell of a lot better at three in the morning wearing the leather than you will in a damn suit. The Spandex has long sleeves, it’ll keep you warm. Put a big coat on top of it, man, you’ll be beating off the guys with a club.”

“I can’t.”

She wanted to, though. Velvet leaned over, locked eyes with her, and said, “Can’t or won’t?”

Robby shook her head and walked away, arms full of clothes. The leather stayed dumped on the bed. Velvet shrugged, wiggled her shoulders, checked her thick makeup, and slid on a pair of dark glasses.

“Fabulous.” She fluffed her hair. “Hey. You’re gonna be okay. Really.”

Robby, gone off down the hallway, didn’t answer. Velvet blew one more kiss at the mirror, tugged on her bright technicolor coat, and didn’t look back until she was at the front door, unlocking deadbolts.

Robby was crying somewhere in the back, lonely racking sounds. Velvet closed the door quietly and tried to pretend she hadn’t heard. As she waited in the hallway for the elevator, she felt her mother’s wide, tear-filled eyes on her, heard the quiet sobs.

Oh, honey, why? Why?

The elevator took too long. She jammed the button again, and again, until her finger hurt. When the doors rumbled open, she hurried in, wedged herself in the corner, and watched the hallway. Hoped Robby might—

But she didn’t. The elevator doors creaked closed and the world dropped out from under her in slow shuddering jerks.

One more time, Mama. One more, and it’s all over.