And Mike. Tonya called up his number on the screen, debating whether or not to have a conversation with him in front of her daughter. Layla knew her mom had a special friend who she saw sometimes. Not a boyfriend, exactly. Tonya didn’t have time for dinner dates, movie nights, or dreaded conversations about where things were going. But she had needs, and every now and again Mike fulfilled them, taking her back to the small apartment that he shared with two other NYU grads juggling day jobs and auditions.

Mike’s place was too small and crowded to put up a woman and a child, Tonya decided. More than that, the favor was far beyond the bounds of their friends-with-benefits relationship. Even if he was valiantly willing to surrender his room and bunk with one of his buddies, the ask would change their relationship forever. She wasn’t ready for that, and she doubted that he was either.

“Mom, where are we going to go?” Layla asked again.

Tonya kissed the top of her head. “I’m figuring it out.”

*  *  *

By the time Tonya fit the last of their furniture into the walk-in-closet-sized storage unit, she still had not determined where she’d take her daughter. She sorted through her clothing for the warm items she’d need during the next few weeks, avoiding looking at her kid lest she again hear the question burning in her blue eyes. It wasn’t easy. Each task she gave Layla to do was done staring at her, silently demanding an answer.

“Mom,” Layla said.

“I’ll check the truck for any loose items,” Tonya said, putting a pile of clothes in an emptied duffel bag. “Put what you’ll need for the next few weeks in here, okay?”

Tonya hurried out of the storage room before Layla could respond. She raced to the back of the truck, heart pounding and her breath short. When she finally got inside the metal walls, she let it out, all the fear and shame and fury that had been building up inside her, not just since Ms. Bosco had kicked her out, but since this whole pandemic had started, maybe from long before. Homelessness was not supposed to happen to hardworking people. Her acting career might not have taken off, but she’d held on to a job with the same company for more than a decade. She’d worked her way up to head waitress, in charge of the whole dining room of a celebrated French fusion restaurant in Manhattan. How could she not have anywhere to go?