Lance looked at Sam, sitting at the bar. She was beginning to look like she might fit in. She was wearing jeans and a warm sweater and the dye in her hair faded a little every time she washed it.

“Two beers,” he said to the bartender.

“I’ll have a club soda,” Sam said.

She was playing with a pack of cigarettes on the bar and she said, “How long are you going to string this out?”

“String what out?”

“You know what.”

Lance shook his head. He knew what she was referring to and he didn’t like it. She’d caught the gist of Roth and Laurel’s visit. Or at least, she thought she had.

“You don’t know as much as you think you do,” he said.

“I know as much as you knew when you stepped into my life.”

“And I was right, wasn’t I?”

“About me?”

“Yes, about you.”

“Maybe you were.”

“You’re better off here.”

She shrugged. “I should have had a say in the matter.”

“But it’s working out, right?”

She nodded reluctantly. “It’s working.”

He could tell she’d be okay. His place was big enough for the two of them. She was a smart girl. A fresh start in a fresh town was all she needed.

“You’ll get a job, maybe go back to school.”

“Let’s start with a job,” she said.

“See. I wasn’t so wrong.”

“We’re not talking about that,” she said. “We’re talking about those two government people.”

“You don’t know who they were.”

“I saw enough to know they wanted you back.”

He nodded.

“But you’re still sitting here in this bar with me, wasting time.”

The bartender brought their drinks and Lance smiled at her. She didn’t smile back.

“How’s this a waste of time?” he said.

“Letting other people fight your battles for you.”

“They’re not fighting my battles.”

“Sure looked that way.”

Lance sighed.

“They’ve gone back to fight your fight, while you sit here on your ass drinking with women half your age.”

“What makes you think their fight had anything to do with me?”

“Come on,” she said. “Why would they come all the way out here if it had nothing to do with you?”

“It was a job offer, basically.”

“When the military comes to you, when they come all the way to your door, that’s not a job offer.”

“Oh no?”

She shook her head.

“What is it then?”

“Its a duty, Lance.”

He laughed. “Since when were you such an expert?”

Sam shrugged. She took a sip of her drink.

“I’m just saying,” she said.

Lance drained his beer and ordered another. He leaned back on his seat and looked around the bar. It was busier than the last time they were there. There were groups of people sitting at tables having a good time.