J and I are going away. I put my favorite things in a suitcase. At the top of French Hill Road, I hear an engine revving.

The bottom of the mill stretches right into the river, and the water shoves up against it hard, like it’s trying to tear it apart. I guess eventually it will.

We drive until dark, stopping only for pops and to piss by the side of the road. It feels like we’re being chased, but we don’t say anything. We turn the radio up. We’re just having fun, doing something different.

At the motel, they give us a bunch of coupons. $1 Towards any beverage at our Twilight Bar & Lounge (Live Band Karaoke Fridays), $1 Towards any entree at the Family Restaurant OR Grill-Your-Own Texas Steakhouse. House Specialties: Iron Rich Baby Beef Liver. Roast Young Tom Turkey. Roast Loin of Pork. Country Style Veal Cutlet. Freshly Made Chopped Steak. Stuffed Flounder.

I don’t remember meeting J. It’s like he was always there, but suddenly got brighter—like when you stare at the ground an hour before you see your dropped earring and wonder how you could’ve missed it.

We pull our curtains tight and double-lock the door and sit on the bed, passing our little bottle. Just outside our room, late, a man’s voice comes low and sad—Bill. Bill. Hey, Bill. He gets louder—Bill. Hey, BILL. Then he shouts—HEY, WHAT’RE YOU CRYING FOR, BILL? WHY DON’T YOU STOP CRYING? STOP CRYING, YOU FUCKING FAGGOT, AND LET ME IN.

J falls asleep but I can’t. Channel 1: A Texas Ranger protects five college cheerleaders. Channel 16: A private investigator who is a vampire. Channel 24: A dorky teen attends a high school for superheroes. Channel 38: A grungy criminal and a teen queen magically switch bodies. Channel 40: A couple is stranded at a hotel. Channel 56: A tycoon offers a cash-strapped couple $1 million. Channel 59: Tale of racial prejudice between Indians and whites. Channel 60: Rendered obsolete, a hardened soldier is abandoned.

In the morning we will get in the car and drive. Maybe we will stop and drink coffee or eat a donut. We’ll stay in another place like this. The scenery will not be much different. But the day after that, and the day after that for sure, I think things will start to change.

The river coming over the big rocks at the old mill is loud—so loud! You can’t hear anything else. You don’t need to talk. J and I just look at each other. That’s it.

Sometimes I’d turn around like someone was sneaking up behind me. I’d stare into the woods and the woods would stare back. When I looked too long at the fast black water, it tried to pull me in. But I’ll miss that place, and I hope I never see it again.

FABLE

The girl’s mother sent her to the store for meat, but the girl, when she arrived, could not remember which cut was requested, or even which animal. She stood with a hand resting lightly on the cool glass of the case until the butcher—a bachelor handsome to some but repulsive to others—approached, wiping his hands of the blood that accompanied his trade.