Prepared for a long wait, he picked up his phone and called the bank.

3

Driving Nick home, Anita passed by not only the optometrist’s office where she worked, but also the nursery, where Steven was visible behind the chainlink fence, watering a table of perennials. She tried not to let her expression change, maintaining her focus on the road ahead, though her face felt hot and she could sense a sudden increase in her pulse rate. They were scheduled to meet today at lunch—not at the nursery this time, but at his place. She was not sure that was such a good idea. They’d been spending a lot of lunches together, and everything so far had been leading in one direction, but flirting was different than…what came after flirting, and maybe it would be smarter for her to use Nick’s suspension as an excuse to cancel. She could back away from the precipice, get things back on a friendship footing.

But was that what she really wanted?

She thought of the way it had felt last week when he had taken her hand in his, his thumb gently rubbing the knuckles on her—

“Mom! Pay attention!”

Anita slammed on her brakes, barely avoiding hitting the car in front of her, which, for some reason, had come to a stop in the middle of the street.

“Were you daydreaming? It’s like you didn’t even see that guy stop!”

“I’m all right,” she said. “I was just…distracted for a moment.”

A skinny, boyish woman threw open the passenger door of the car and bolted out, running toward the Shell station. The car swerved to the right, across the other lane, following her.

“What’s that about?” Nick wondered.

“None of our business.”

Nick looked out of his window behind them as they moved forward again. “You think she was kidnapped and trying to escape?”

“No, but maybe you should put that imagination to use and write about something like that next time instead of…what you did.”

They drove the rest of the way home in silence. When they arrived, Anita quickly unlocked and opened the front door before stepping aside. “I’m already late for work. Close and lock the door behind you. And stay here. I don’t want you leaving the house.”

“I thought it was a slap-on-the-wrist offense.”

“It is. But you’re still suspended, buddy. And if that little stunt showed anything, it showed poor judgment. Did you really think that was an acceptable thing to turn in as your writing assignment? To Mrs. Nelson? At Montgomery High?”

“No,” he admitted.

“All right, then.”

“But I can go on the internet, right? Or watch TV?”

“After you get your homework done.”

He grinned. “I only went to first period. So I only have one assignment.”

“Then you email your teachers and get your work for the next two days. This isn’t a vacation.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to go. But I’m checking up on you. I’m calling the house phone. Randomly. Throughout the day. And if you’re not there to answer it…”