Now, with the tires lined up by the garage and his quiet explanation at the kitchen table still in my ears, the heavy tightness behind my ribs started to melt away.

“Garlic crust sounds good,” I said.

Sadie set the green bill back on her nightstand, carefully lining its long edge up with the side of her wooden lamp base.

She looked back at the screen, where the silver straps sparkled, and broke into a wide, open smile.

Sadie sat grinning at her computer screen, holding the twenty-dollar bill as if it were solid gold.

Sadie kept her phone face up on the laminate table, right next to her bowl of chili.