She folded the letter into its smallest size and scrambled to her feet. Will looked like he didn’t know what to do. He came a stitch nearer, as if going for her palm, then reached for her shoulder, as if he might whisper in her ear. She stepped off and away from him. Her eyes asked, What the fuck?

Then he looked at the dirt. He waved for her to join him as he knelt. She watched him trace it out across the ground.

Can’t sleep. Come back.

•  •  •

The smell of warm bread woke her. It was early evening, not yet dark. A boy had smoothed a tablecloth on the ground under the far squinch supporting the dome.

There was a bucket of water by her head. The boy made a face-washing motion. He was wearing I Dream of Jeannie pantaloons. They were black-blue woven cotton, mended with red thread. Will was up already, his bucket missing. She carried hers back to the fortress of the previous night. The sun had set, but there was light. Once again the air was its surprising cool.

After she was done, she turned over the bucket and sat on it. She’d found from Bragg and Nellis it was good to go over the hours ahead. Frank was right. She’d been shortcuts and screeching when she started out. But you went around and you learned. Tonight they’d cover a minimum of three hundred kilometers. Will was probably inspecting the truck right now. The kid would travel with them, just in case there was a language situation. Their goal was to reach Takab in two days’ time. They planned to camp with the boy’s relatives, then at a shrine called Takht-e-Soleiman, remote from the major roads, far from a village. The kid knew it well.

A stone tossed into her chamber. It was Will saying, Let’s go. She got up and followed him, already farther ahead. Sure of her, he didn’t even turn around to look at her. She decided to play and ran up behind him, catgirl soft, tagged him, and scooted. See if she could get one slip-smile out of him. But there was no happy face, just him chasing back at her, and her faster, and her knowing he had that bad foot and could he, and, yeah, he knocked her rump with the heel of his hand, and then she got the grin, but only in his eyes. She put her hands up for surrender.