Gavin fired me at nine forty-five.” I heard how flat it came out and rubbed my thumb across the crystal of my watch.

“Terminated.” Then louder.

“Fired.

You were fired.”

“Fired.”

“Today.

The day before six thousand eight hundred dollars is due at that school.” A pan went down somewhere behind her.

“You stood in my driveway at six this morning and told me the bonus covered it completely.”