“It’s been looming large for a while, but I didn’t want to say anything last week, not with everything that happened to you. Basically...well, the truth is I can’t keep the business going. I thought I had someone lined up to take it over, but the deal fell through. I’m sorry, Lily, but I have to shut things down. Time to retire.”

“Oh, Mike, that’s awful.”

“I feel sick to my stomach. You were the last one on my list to call. Not because you were the least important, but because I kept hoping for a miracle. I don’t want to lose you. But it’s official, and I didn’t want to tell you while you’re on leave, but...”

“Don’t worry, it’s okay, I understand. What can I do to help?”

“Nothing, but thank you. You’re the first person to ask. I’ve been called all kinds of names in the past twenty-four hours, none of them pretty. I’ll do everything I can to pay your two weeks’ severance.”

“What about the car?”

“You said you’re on a trip?”

“Yeah, I’m not exactly in town.”

“Screw it,” he said. “Bring it back whenever you’re ready, it’s the least I can do.”

After we hung up my mind wouldn’t stop churning. Not only did I have multiple reasons to stay in Newdale, but losing my job meant I now had the time, too. The one thing I didn’t have a lot of was money. A week, I told myself. I’d give myself a week to find all the answers I needed and decide, one way or another, what I’d do next.

22

ASH

The walk I’d hoped would clear my head hadn’t worked, and by the time I got back to the house I’d been anxious and wired with the anticipation of seeing Lily. When Maya told me she’d come and gone, I exploded. “What do you mean, she left?” I yelled. “How could you let her go?”

“Calm down, Ash,” Maya said. “She needs time to get her head straight. She’ll be back in the morning.”