Knowing full well this was a bad idea, I walked to the curb and put my hand up when I saw a yellow cab, the SUV kind, with its white light on. It pulled over, and I got in, slamming the door behind me and taking my nineteen dollars in cash out of my pocket, prepared to watch the meter closely and stop the cab at around fifteen, so I’d have enough for the tip and for all the extra charges I’d never understood but that were always added on.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked, meeting my eyes in the rearview mirror. I looked at the clock on the TV screen playing Taxi TV. It was nine—which meant I could still make it.

And so, I leaned forward and said, “Josephine’s. In the Village.”

Meanwhile, somewhere on Highway 81…

TERI PULLED INTO THE PARKING lot of the Borderline. It wouldn’t have been her first choice—a roadhouse off the highway, a wooden-framed building with neon beer signs in the windows—but she needed a break, had to go to the bathroom, was starving, and her phone was dead. So the roadhouse it was.

She’d been driving for nearly two hours, and most of it blind. As she’d pulled away from the rest stop, all she was thinking about was throwing Gilroy and the other man off their trail. She’d changed highways and interstates at random, just trying to make sure they couldn’t be followed. And when she felt sure they’d lost the trail, she’d pulled over and reached for her phone, to try and get directions that would take them home.

All she got was a text message from Ryan Camper, telling her they were over.

Then her phone died.

And while she was pretty sure she was headed the right way, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to check. She steered the car into a parking spot, killed the engine, and looked at the kids sleeping in the backseat.

“Are we home?” Daryl asked as he stretched.

Parker looked around, at the neon signs. She shook her head at her brother.

“Not yet,” Teri said. “Quick food and bathroom break. Let’s go.” As she ushered the kids inside, Teri couldn’t help thinking that if this was what it was always like to babysit, it was no wonder Kat had wanted to retire.

The Borderline was a big space, a bar at one end, booths and tables, and an area with a pool table and pinball machines. It was crowded, and loud. It was Friday night, after all.

Teri took the girls into the bathroom after Daryl promised he wouldn’t wander off. And after they were done and everyone’s hands were washed, she felt like she could finally breathe a little.