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because you made sure you kept far, far away from my business.”
    “Oh, come on. If you’re going to start in on me again because I never went to any of those stupid button shows with you—”
    “I’m not starting in on you. Not again. Because I never did in the first place. And this has nothing to do with you not going to button shows with me.” We were at a cross street, and the light was against us. I’d rather have taken a chance on an encounter with a Yellow Cab than continue our conversation, but traffic was heavy, and though I talk a good game, I’m really not much of a risk taker. Except, of course, when it came to Kaz. “I’m not stupid, Kaz,” I pointed out. I shouldn’t have had to. “We both know this is the time of the month I get my royalty check.”
    Oh yeah, he is quite the actor. If I didn’t know better, I actually would have believed that fleeting look of surprise. “Royalty?” His eyes lit. “Oh, you mean for that movie you worked on with that Hugh Weaver guy . You’re still getting money from that?”
    I bit my tongue. After all, we were on a public street and there were children nearby. They didn’t need to hear what I was thinking, which was pretty much that Kaz was the lousiest liar I’d ever met. Only the words that pounded around inside my head weren’t nearly that nice.
    “You know I get a check every month,” I said instead, skirting the whole nuance thing again and laying it on the line. “You know this, Kaz, because back when I got my first few royalty checks, I put all the money in the bank to save it for the down payment on a house. And you withdrew all that money because you knew in your heart of hearts that the Colts were going to beat the Saints in the Super Bowl. Let’s see . . .” I tipped my head, thinking. Or maybe one side of my head was just heavy from all the sarcasm I was storing up and ready to let loose. “The way I remember it, you lost all that money and you didn’t care. You figured you’d just get more the next month.”
    “For richer or for poorer!” He was the only one I knew who could make that part of the wedding vows sound like a joke.
    The light changed and I crossed the street. It wasn’t hard for Kaz to keep up. I am, after all, a short woman with short legs.
    “It’s just a couple thousand bucks, Jo, and I wouldn’t ask at all if it was for me. But I’ve got this friend, see, this guy down at the port. He’s been sick, and he hasn’t been able to work. And he’s got a wife who’s on disability. And kids. Three of them.”
    Yes, he talked a good game, and I would have been a noble and charitable person had I listened. But I’d heard it all before. Always a sick friend. Or a relative in need. Always a story. Over the years, I’d learned that none of them were ever true. “No,” was all I said.
    “But that movie you worked on with Hugh Weaver, the one you did the costumes for all those years ago . . . it’s hotter than ever. I saw DVDs in a bookstore the other day and—”
    “No. I sunk all the money I could afford into the shop. And I need some money to live on until things finally take off. How else do you think I was able to quit my job at the insurance company?”
    “My point exactly!” Kaz’s eyes were the color of a cup of double espresso. They packed the same wallop. “You’ve got enough money to quit your job. And enough to start this crazy business of yours. And thanks to that goofy movie, you’ll have more coming in next month.”
    We were in front of the Button Box, and I stopped and said, “Yes, I will. And you won’t be getting any of that, either.”
    “Ah, come on, Jo.” Kaz was brazen enough to skim a finger up my arm.
    I was shameless enough to let him.
    That is, right before I said no again, and turned to walk into the shop.
    “But you’re going to be more successful than ever. You know, after this.”
    I turned around just in time to see him pull a newspaper out of his back pocket. He unfolded