Greta’s response didn’t come for a minute, and Truman’s stomach churned as he watched her ellipsis.

he WHAT!?!? no, yr not a chump, he’s a shithead. and his partner doesn’t know about you? what is WRONG w people why are they the total worst?!

A satisfying string of monster and knife emojis followed, and Truman smiled.

The worst part is that I didn’t even do anything. I just left.

want me to go over there and kick his ass?! came Greta’s reply.

Kinda! I just feel like I should’ve told his partner, right? Like, hey, you’re with a cheating jerk, just so you know. Something.

you’re being too hard on yourself. confrontation is HARD!

Yeah. So what happened to make you need to get out of town?

oh nbd, just my mother and sister auctioning me off in the public square of our town.

That brought him up short.

Er. What?

She told him the story of her family and their town holiday festival then, and he commiserated with her plight.

By the time he got home, he felt like Greta needed this just as much as he did.

“Hi, baby,” he said as he unlocked the door and Horse trotted up to him. The Great Dane’s sleek fur was mussed on one side where he’d been snoozing, but his eyes were bright and he nudged Truman’s stomach, eager for their evening walk.

He slid Horse’s leash down over his wrist so he could keep texting with Greta, and they set out into the night.

They discussed the particulars and agreed on where they’d leave keys and instructions, and then there was nothing else to say except:

So we’re really doing this?

yeah, we really are!

Wow. Wow wow wow. I don’t do things like this.

me neither.

Then there was a pause, and they both sent messages at once.

Truman’s said: Maybe that’s the best reason to do it. Greta’s said: maybe if we were the kind of people who did shit like this we wouldn’t be in our current messes.

They both liked each other’s texts, and the deal was struck.

Fourteen hours later, Truman was on a plane, suitcase packed for a month checked to Maine, his journal open in front of him to a new spread, winging his way toward the unknown.

A Message from Ramona

RAMONA to TRUMAN CUTIE and GREAT!A RUSSAKOFF

I know you’ve both been feeling stuck, creatively and personally. Well, carry an umbrella at all times, cuz it’s gonna be raining possibilities and solutions! (Well, snowing them in Maine probably, and shining them down in N.O. ;D)

Chapter 3

Truman