Rebecca expected Alexa to roll her eyes at that but when she looked at her daughter, she saw that her face was—well, for lack of a better word, alight. Glittering with something familiar. It was only after Cam and Alexa had continued down the road that Rebecca realized that Alexa’s face was a mirror image of how her own often felt since she’d started seeing Daniel: it was the rudimentary, timorous, budding image of genuine happiness.

Morgan, Rebecca, and Bernice crossed the street and paused in front of the dress shop.

“That would look pretty on Alexa,” said Morgan, pointing at a dress.

“You think so? It’s not really her style, though. Don’t you think it’s sort of conservative?” The dress had capped sleeves and diagonal stripes in alternating colors, purple, dark green, and black. It was pretty, but it looked a little lawyerly. Alexa generally favored ripped denim shorts and spaghetti-strap tank tops, or, when she dressed up, dresses and tops that only a teenager could pull off. And not just any teenager.

Morgan pursed her lips and studied the dress. “Not for every day,” she said finally. “But it would be perfect for Silk Stockings.”

“For what?”

“For Silk Stockings. Alexa’s YouTube channel.”

“I’m sorry,” said Rebecca. “For what?”

Morgan looked like a teacher who had to explain a very basic concept to a particularly slow student. “Her YouTube channel,” she said. “Where she explains about the stock market and stuff. We all watch it. Me and my friends. Don’t you watch it too?”

This was how Rebecca knew she was thrown entirely off guard: she didn’t make Morgan repeat her sentence with my friends and I.

50.

Sherri

On a Wednesday in the beginning of August Sherri went to meet her transition counselor, Louise, at the mall. It was really nice, that they gave you a follow-up visit with your counselor to see how you were getting along in your new life. She was trying to find the silver lining in every situation. My witness protection program comes with free follow-up at no additional cost! I would definitely recommend this program to a friend!

They met at the food court, at one of the dingy center tables that had been recently vacated by a mother and two little kids and so was strewn with crumbs and streaks of who-knows-what. Louise got to work efficiently with a thin food-court napkin.

Sherri hadn’t seen Louise since the grim motel where they’d spent their “transition time,” and seeing her now, with the noise of the shopping mall swirling around them, she felt like hugging her. But she knew she couldn’t.