I placed my nursing certificate and my birth certificate into the bottom of the box.

“I have forty-two dollars in cash in my top drawer,” I said.

“That will cover the gas.”

“Do not worry about the gas,” Julie said.

“Just pack what you need to keep.”

I walked to the front window and parted the white vinyl blinds with two fingers.

The street below was quiet, the houses dark except for the blue glow of televisions through the living room windows.

A blue police cruiser sat idling near the hydrant, its headlights turned off.