Chapters (65)
- Cover
- Dedication
- Epigraph
- Part One
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Part Two
- Thirty-Four
- Thirty-Five
- Thirty-Six
- Thirty-Seven
- Thirty-Eight
- Thirty-Nine
- Forty
- Forty-One
- Forty-Two
- Forty-Three
- Forty-Four
- Forty-Five
- Forty-Six
- Forty-Seven
- Forty-Eight
- Forty-Nine
- Fifty
- Fifty-One
- Part Three
- Fifty-Two
- Fifty-Three
- Fifty-Four
- Fifty-Five
- Fifty-Six
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- About the Publisher
Like a thief, Digger stuck some wire into the window and tried a screwdriver on the lock mechanism, and I bounced in place, trying to keep warm. Finally, he opened the door, and I hoisted myself in and picked up the baby. I unzipped my coat and held her up to my warm clothes, pulled out a boob, and put her on it. Right away, she settled down.
Digger finished paying at the gas pump, then loaded the bags of supplies and food into the backseat. Someone knocked on my window, and I jumped. There was the Vikings sweatshirt, wearing no coat and marching in place. She motioned for me to unwind my window, which I did.
“Is this yours?” She stuck a red fuzzy mitten in my face.
“No.”
“Okay, well, it was near when you—”
“Yeah, it’s not mine,” I said.
Digger was arranging stuff in the backseat, and I wished he’d hurry up.
“Hey, where’s your car seat?” said Vikings, peering inside.
“Oh, um,” I said, twisting to look in the back as if it might be there.
“You’re gonna need one,” she said. “It’s the law.”
“Okay, thanks,” I said, nodding and waving her away. I wound up my window and she stepped back, closer to the rear of the truck. Was she looking at our license plate?
Digger hopped into the driver’s seat. He was adjusting the rearview mirror and grumbling under his breath. He started the ignition, but the woman didn’t move. Just stood there with that stupid mitten, staring at our license plate as we pulled away. The cold made her breath visible like smoke from a purple chimney. The truck bounced as Digger took us up and down a curb, then swerved to get into the turn lane and finally back on the highway.
“That nosy bitch with the mitten,” I said. “She took down your license number.”
“For what?”
“Did you hear what she said? We’re supposed to have a car seat for the baby.”
“Okay, Officer.”
“Seriously, we need to get one,” I said.
“Look around you. I don’t see any car seat stores.”
“Well, no, I realize that. But tomorrow,” I said, almost excited about the idea.
“And how much is that gonna cost?” He sounded anxious.
“I don’t know,” I said, but I wasn’t worried about money. Hal had preloaded a credit card for me with a huge balance, close to eleven thousand dollars.
“Well, I’m not paying for that. I just spent thirty bucks on gas.”
“I can use the baby money,” I said. “Hal gave me a special credit card.”
“Is that what you used in there?”
“Yeah, why?”