Back in the house, John wasn’t in his office as Carly walked by. She crept inside one step, trying to hear where everyone was over the sound of her own breathing, loud in her head. She listened through two more careful steps. She would never take money, but she would also never mouth off to John or to a stranger bigger than their refrigerator. Except that she had. Just if I need it. Why would you need it? I don’t know! And that train of thought got her all the way across the room and to the desk.

She opened the little drawer, peeled four bills off the top of the stack, and was back in the foyer, shaking all over, before she talked herself out of it.

She heard John rounding into the hall from the far end, but he was all in silhouette as he turned into view—the light from the front door and window panels couldn’t get to him. The glow was bright at the glass, green in the open foyer, fading to gray down the funnel to the focal point. John, looking back to her, would be just as blind to her details as she was to his. Very artsy. Emma would approve of Carly’s eye. Not-Normal Man with Gym Bag.

She grabbed a sketch pad and one of the art boxes at random off the bench.

“Bye, Mom!” And she was out the door before she would have to look John in the face where they both could see.

•  •  •

“But you texted me from your phone,” said Ada.

“I know. John was going to give me a ride, but then he was a jerk and he didn’t, and I didn’t get all my stuff out of the car. I forgot it in the seat pocket. Let’s just double-check that he’s at the Y and we can go get it.”

“I don’t want to walk to the Y.”

“It’s five minutes from the library.”

“I don’t want to go to the library either. Besides, it’s more like ten.”

“Fine! I’ll go get it and meet you there, then.”

“You’re obsessed. And a freak. We don’t have to do art every day. Can’t we just stay here and play my ukulele and make cookies and chill?”

The disappointment that Carly was not in the mood for any of it showed on Ada’s face. Carly sighed. Ada sighed back and pulled her phone from her pocket. “Fine!” She tapped the tracking app to life. “He’s not even at the Y.”

The I knew it dropped straight through Carly like a hot stone. She came around to look at the screen with Ada, who zoomed in on the map, to the little blue flag with Carly’s face on top.

“It looks like he went to Town Center Plaza.”