I left four dollar bills on the laminate table beside her untouched coffee and walked back out onto Main Street.

The town’s streetlights flicked on all at once, throwing long gray shadows across the empty sidewalks in front of the hardware store and the bank.

A blue sedan rolled slowly past, its headlights sweeping across my coat before it turned down Maple Street toward the highway.

When I got back to Grace’s, the spare room was dark except for the yellow light coming in from the hall.

Bennett was already asleep under Grace’s heavy quilt, breathing slow and even in the quiet house.