“You’re welcome for babysitting.”

“That’s all it is to you: babysitting. Don’t do me any favors,” Ann snapped.

Soon, Poppy learned that talking about college was a hot button. She saw Ann’s face turn bitter with jealousy when she told her about helicopters dropping joints on the State Capitol lawn during Mifflin Street days, and her excellent political science professor and the bands she’d seen on the Union Terrace, or how she’d partied at the Kollege Klub. Ann was too proud to admit she was jealous of Poppy’s freedom. Instead, her jealousy manifested itself as meanness that only pushed Poppy further and further away until her visits became less frequent. One afternoon Ann exploded when Poppy came home, breathless with excitement, and told her she was planning to go to Costa Rica on a study-abroad program. “Costa Rica?” Ann said. “You don’t even care about school. You just want to surf and hang out with a bunch of dropouts and losers.”

“What’s your problem?”

“I’m raising a kid on my own and going to school. What the hell are you going to learn about in Costa Rica? Study abroad is total bullshit. You can learn something right here in Milwaukee.”

“You don’t have to be a bitch about it.”

“Whatever. Just leave, go to Costa Rica. Go anywhere, see what we care.” Ann held Noah in a tight grip. We: she was speaking for both of them.

“Fine,” Poppy said, deeply hurt. “I’ll do anything to get away from you.”

And she did. Poppy left for Costa Rica, seeking a less complicated life somewhere, anywhere else.

Poppy tried to escape her memories the way she usually did: by heading outside. The wind was sharp and cold, and the city was covered in a blanket of dirty snow that looked even darker under a flat, gray sky. Instead of VW vans and palm trees, Poppy had to readjust to a world of Jiffy Lubes, Home Depot, and frozen-custard stands.

Green Bay Packer T-shirts were on clearance at Walgreens because the Packers just lost the last round of the playoffs. Everyone seemed aimless and deflated now that football season was over.

She sought the solace of water. She walked through Lake Park to Lake Michigan in her dad’s ancient L.L.Bean parka, which still smelled like his beard. She was freezing, even with the parka and several layers of her mother’s old sweaters. Maybe it was true that her blood had become too thin. She didn’t mind, because the cold reinforced her inner numbness. She walked until her cheeks were raw and red and her eyes watered.