Mary moved some of the photos carefully. One kid, the boy, was a pumpkin. The girl was a strawberry. They were somewhere around two and three years old. She couldn’t remember their names. She never did. Eve, unlike Purdue, knew exactly what to say about yesterday, which was nothing. Why ask about Frank when there was nothing Mary knew about Frank that Eve wouldn’t hear within minutes of leaving the hut? Why inquire as to press releases about runs that were done and past? Today is today. Night was night.

“Put you right under,” Eve said, referring to the kid photos and sipping at her coffee cup from the doorway. “Better than Ambien.”

“Can I have some of that?” Seri said, pointing to the coffee.

Eve left.

“Me too,” Mary said louder.

“Fuck, what time is it?” Seri’s voice was husky from sleep.

Mary tried to judge the light through the shut plywood. “Maybe seven.”

Eve was back with the two mugs. Caretaker, she knew their preferences: Seri’s was black, and Mary’s white with sugar. She was right about the kids. They’d put Mary to sleep.

“Thanks, doc,” Seri said. “Lifesaver.”

“Beauty Queen and Bringer of Life,” Mary said.

Eve bowed.

“Time, please?” Seri asked.

“Oh eight hundred.”

“Shit!” Seri sprang out of the laundry. Mary started shuffling photos into the Tupperware box.

“Is Purdue gone?”

“Of course.”

It was warmer. She felt it. She could hear the drip dropping from the roof outside.

“There’s messages here for you,” Eve said to Mary.

She looked. Squadron commander. Hospital.

“You should of woke me!”

“Told me not to,” Eve said.

“Who did?”

“Some private who came by with these.”

Mary pulled on a uniform, grabbed her gear. She’d pee on the way. She looked at the mirror by the door. Seri’d cleaned her up good.

The path along Disney Drive was teeming after the snow day. The languages and accents gathered up, then flew off, as she went. Poles, Germans, French, Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, Egyptians, Turks, Koreans, Norwegians. The saluting whisked up and down, the snow melted, the sky had blue in it. She willed it to be a good omen for Frank. She tried calling the nurse from the previous night on her cell phone but got voice mail. Commander’s message told her to go to the hospital first. That worried her.

On her way, she got a call on her cell from one of Rex’s DynCorp buddies telling her Rex was already in Germany. He said Rex’s condition was stable, but they were flying him to London for more testing. There was a memorial service for Jeff day after tomorrow, at the U.S. Embassy. He offered to pick her up at the gate. She told him she’d be there.