When he didn’t catch them saying cruel and utterly justified things about his character, Clark captured little glimpses into the life of the woman who’d singlehandedly invaded his life. Thank you so much for bringing my boy to the doctor last week. I couldn’t have gotten the time off. Or, you’ll never believe what happened last week! I took your advice and asked Laura out at her favorite place at the festival and she said yes! We’re going out next week for New Year’s. Kate invested herself in these people, and not just for cheap displays of her own dedication to charity. Clark couldn’t name a single neighbor in his apartment building, while Kate consistently remembered birthdays, anniversaries, breakups, and the name of every single person she came across. Small-town living came with perks and privileges not enjoyed by city folk like him, but he didn’t suspect everyone in Miller’s Point—or any small town for that matter—acted exactly like her. She was a creature entirely unto herself. He’d yet to meet anyone on earth, much less in Miller’s Point, who rivaled Kate in any way.

Whether that was a point in her favor or a demerit, he couldn’t be entirely sure.

The car’s bells chimed as the doors opened and the ragtag team of daylight Santas, now relieved of their boxes and presents, slipped inside.

“That was the last one,” Kate said.

Clark turned the key in the ignition and headed for town. Driving around today gave him a much better sense of the place, all of its hidden side streets and tangled roundabouts. Cell service cut out all over town, making his cell phone directions absolutely useless. Upon first arriving in Miller’s Point, the maps would disappear and reappear at will, sending him on crazy routes until he finally gave up. Finding the town square last night was nothing short of a miracle.

Michael, on the other hand, knew every inch of Miller’s Point and didn’t require battery life or WiFi.

Conversation flowed easily between the three friends, leaving Clark to feel a bit like an out-of-the-loop Uber driver, an experience he only knew from the one time his bike got a flat tire in downtown Dallas and the public transportation workers spent the day on strike, forcing him to use the car-sharing service. In a city with plenty of bike racks and trams, Clark saw no reason to pay seven bucks for someone else to ferry him around.

“Wanna stop somewhere and get lunch?” Michael asked. “I’m starving.”

“You’re always starving.”

“No one is starving. We all ate this morning.”

“We could go to the diner.”

“It’s closed.”

“You were literally there this morning.”

“Mel opened it special for Kate and Clark to sneak in. Mel felt too bad to tell him to get lost.”