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and he ’ d seen the Buick so the Buick was about to become another portion of his past.
    He pulled into the first shopping center he came to, got out, waited in darkness. An old guy came along pushing a cart full of food. He loaded the food into his car, took out his keys, and Billy didn ’ t even bother making a fist of his hand, a club of his arm, not for an old guy—for an old guy a swipe was enough, a backhander, and as the old guy folded up Billy Boy grabbed his wallet and car keys, took off again on the road, counting the bread as he went along—
    —shit, six bucks, he should have made a club after all, teach the old guy about coming out at night with an empty wallet. He reached back for the food, rummaged around, felt what should have been an apple but it was an onion, reached again, snagged an orange this time, peeled it as he drove, ate it down fast—
    —the car slowed. Billy Boy gave a glance at the gas gauge. Empty. He really should have clubbed that old guy. The car coasted to a stop and he started running again, not on the road but across a huge barren stretch of Illinois land, because in the distance there were streaks, streaks of light, and as he kept on running the streaks turned into headlights and once he saw the turnpike clear, Billy Boy knew his next stop would be one of those service areas and now ahead he saw the streaks turning off and he picked up his pace as the service area assumed shape in the February darkness, and when he finally reached it he almost went inside because he had the six bucks and you could buy burgers with that, only more important than eating was moving, and he went to where the cars were and right away along came this Shrimp and if a swipe was enough to handle the old guy, this one coming now, this Shrimp with the pale blue eyes, you could take car e of with a finger snap—
    —only Billy Boy sensed that was wrong. Big wrong. As the Shrimp came toward him what Billy Boy sensed was … was …
    … fear?
    “ Ex—excuse me, sir, but I could sure use a lift. ”
    The little guy looked at him quietly; nothing showed in the pale blue eyes.
    “ Swear to God I won ’ t be no trouble. ”
    “ You drive? ”
    “ Yessir. I do. I drive good. ”
    Again, the little guy looked at him quietly.
    “ Please. ”
    “ Wouldn ’ t mind some company, ” the little guy said. And he gestured toward his car.
    Toward a Cadillac!
    Billy Boy waited while the car was unlocked. Carefully so as not to upset anything, he got in. His hands stroked the leather.
    “ I ’ m driving all night. ”
    “ Yessir. No problem. I ’ d like that. Fine with me. ”
    “ You want to use the facilities, use them now. ”
    “ Huh? ”
    “ Do you want to piss or not? ”
    He did. “ Oh no sir. Just fine, thank you. ” What the hell, no point in getting people mad at you.
    The wondercar began to glide.
    So smooth. So smooth. Billy Boy just sat there. Everything was good now. He sensed that.
    “ You didn ’ t ask where we were going. ”
    “ I didn ’ t? ”
    “ No. ”
    “ Well, where are we going? ”
    “ New York City. ”
    So smooth. So smooth. Billy Boy just sat still. Everything was great now. Because even though he had never been there, Billy Boy had always sensed that the Apple was going to be the end of the line …
     

 

     
     

    3
Theo and Charlotte
     
     
    They undressed in silence.
    They stood across the small bed from each other, their backs to each other, concentrating on their clothing. He had always been aware of the plainness of his room, but never so much as now, with Charlotte, for the first time, inside—she was, for him, that beautiful.
    Correction.
    Not just for him. He had seen, these past months, too many male heads turn whenever Charlotte had made an entrance. He had noted, these past months, the following flick in the eyes of their wives—from their men, to this woman, to their men again. With her black hair framing her pale skin, with the straight nose, the wide