“No, not that. I don’t believe you’re telling me what you are truly up to. You aren’t working foundations, are you?” her eyes radiated into his.

The sound of shuffling feet approached them.

“Can I get you two an animal?” the bartender asked. He reached down below the polished bar and pulled up an otter. The otter squirmed in his hands and bared its teeth.

Stacey jumped back from the bar.

“Whoa, where did you get that?” she asked, eyes wide.

“House special,” the bartender said.

“What else do you have?” she asked.

“We’ve got raccoon, skunk, ‘possum, fisher, and fox. Can I offer you any?”

“Hmm . . . no thanks. I’m good for now. Maybe later,” she said.

The otter clicked and bobbed its head as the bartender placed it back below the bar.

“Okay, Just know that we do have a one animal minimum,” he said, walking away.

The oil lamps hissed and sputtered as an edge of darkness crossed the room.

Stacey’s eyes beamed into his once more.

“So what are you really up to, Matt? Tell the truth. I’m not trying to be a bitch, I just want to hear the truth, okay?”

Fog obscured the windows and Matt turned to her.

“I’m trapped,” he said.

“Trapped? Where?”

“Up on Julip Road at the shack.” His hands shook, knocking into a beer mug.

“Are you trapped in an old mine?”

“No.”

“Is someone holding you hostage?”

Matt tried to control his hands by gripping his barstool. “Not someone. Something.”

Stacey furrowed her brow. “What does it look like?”

“Don’t know. I can’t see it.” He looked at her like a puppy that had just shit on the couch. He expected derision.

She turned, her lips pulling back to reveal her straight white teeth. She checked the other side of the bar to see if anyone was listening and turned back to him. Her eyes were wide, possessed, the whites almost abnormal. She leaned into his right ear and whispered.

“Then find a way to see it, Matthew.”

“How?”

“You’ll think of something,” she said, draping her arms around his neck and sitting on his lap. She nestled her chin under his jaw and rested her head on his shoulder. “I miss you so much. Come back to me. I’m still out there in the suburbs, an island in the traffic seas.”

He held her, gripping as tight as he could.