“That biker last year. Kiting those checks. The heroin…”

“All in the past. I swear.” Tyra held up a hand and crossed her heart. Sara softened, but looked tired. That was on Tyra, too. “I’m a bad roommate, I know. I spend too much. I party. I keep you up.”

“You’re not bad,” Sara said. “It’s just that you have horrible judgment, no limits, and no consideration for others.”

“Let me make it up to you.”

“How?”

“Doughnuts. Krispy Kreme.”

“Well, if it’s Krispy Kreme…”

The smile appeared at last, and Tyra clapped with joy. “Yes! It’s a plan! We can stay up late, watch TV, whatever you want.”

“No drinking, though.”

“Cross my heart.” Tyra made another X on her chest. “Twenty minutes, yeah? I need to shower. I’m gross.”

“I’ll make tea.”

Tyra skipped to her room, and thought she might cry a little. She showered, then pulled on the flared jeans, the T-shirt with no bra. In the kitchen, Sara gave her a hug, and made it a good, tight one. “You know I love you. You just make bad choices.”

“Not after today. Hand to God. A new start.” A tear slipped out; Tyra didn’t fight it. “I’ll be right back with doughnuts.”

“Bring a dozen,” Sara said.

“A dozen. Check.”

“And get some for yourself.”

Sara blew a kiss, and Tyra left with the lightest step she’d had in days. In the night air, she actually laughed. “Get some for yourself…”

Fumbling with the keys, Tyra made it to the driveway. The Mercedes was too wrecked to be an option, so she slid behind the wheel of Sara’s Beetle, a little Volkswagen with pale cream paint and red, vinyl seats. Tyra locked the door and started the car, then saw the joint when she turned on the lights. It was only half a joint, maybe a third, the end of it blackened where Sara had crushed it against the bottom of the ashtray sometime days or weeks before. Tyra peered guiltily through the glass.

Only the doughnuts …

That lasted to the store and halfway back. The break came at a red light where pavement made a cross on the face of the city. It would be nice, she thought.

Get high …

Eat some doughnuts …

The light turned green, but there was no traffic, so Tyra kept her foot on the clutch, thinking about it.

It’s just a joint, right, not even a whole one …

The light turned again before she lit it.

“Ah … shit, yes.”

Smoke rolled out, and her head went back. She took another toke and drove with the windows down, finishing the joint in six blocks, then stopping at a gas station for chewing gum and eye drops. The cashier rang her up but did it slowly, his eyes on her face, her chest. “Anything else?”

“Camel Straights.”

“That’s it?”