“That’s fine,” I said, taking Lily by the hand.

We walked out into the cool late-afternoon air of the strip mall plaza.

The parking lot was mostly empty, the asphalt gray and cracked under the overcast sky.

I walked up to the driver’s side of my Buick and reached into my purse for the keys.

I paused before opening the door, my cold fingers resting on the metal handle.

I looked at my reflection in the dark window of the Buick and saw the faded sweater, the loose hair, and the shadowed eyes of a woman who felt completely beaten.