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think you have finally lost what's left of your mind, Honey Jane Moon,"
    Chantal said. "That truck couldn't make it to the state line, let alone all the way to California."
    The battered old pickup that stood near Sophie's trailer was the only vehicle left in the park. The body had once been red, but it had been patched with gray putty so many times that little of its original paint job remained. Because Honey was worried about exactly the same thing, she turned on Chantal.
    "You're never gonna get anywhere in life if you keep being such a negative thinker. You've got to have a positive attitude toward the challenges life throws at you. Besides, Buck just put in a new alternator. Now load that suitcase in the back while I try one more time to talk to Sophie."
    "But Honey, I don't want to go to California."
    Honey ignored the whine in her cousin's voice. "That's just too bad, 'cause you're going. Get in that truck and wait for me."
    Sophie was lying on the couch watching her Monday evening television shows.
    Honey knelt on the floor and touched her aunt's hand, running a gentle finger over the swollen knuckles. She knew that Sophie didn't like being touched, but sometimes she couldn't help herself.
    "Sophie, you've got to change your mind and come with us. I don't want to leave you here by yourself. Besides, when those TV people offer Chantal that part on The Dash Coogan Show, they're gonna want
    to talk to her mama."
    Sophie's eyes remained focused on the flickering screen. "I'm afraid I'm too tired to go anywhere, Honey. Besides, Cinnamon and Shade are getting married this week."
    Honey could barely contain her frustration. "This is real life, Sophie, not a soap opera. We have to make plans for our future. The bank owns the park now, and you're not going to be able to go on living here much longer."
    Sophie's lids formed saggy canopies over her small eyes as she looked at Honey for the first time. Honey automatically searched her face for some small sign of affection, but, as usual, she saw nothing there except disinterest and weariness. "The bank didn't say anything about me moving out, so I think I'll just stay right where I am."
    She attempted one final plea. "We need you, Sophie. You know how Chantal is. What if some boy tries to get fresh with her?"
    "You'll take care of him," Sophie said wearily. "You'll take care of everything.
    You always do."

    * * *
    By early Wednesday afternoon, Honey was sick with fatigue. Her eyes were as dry as the Oklahoma prairie that stretched endlessly on both sides of the road, and her head had begun rolling forward without warning. A horn blared and her eyes snapped open. She jerked the wheel just before she slid over the double yellow line.
    They had been on the road since Monday evening, but they hadn't even made it to Oklahoma City. They'd lost the muffler near Birmingham, sprung a leak in a water hose just past Shreveport, and had the same tire patched twice. Honey didn't believe in negative thinking, but her emergency cash supply was dwindling more rapidly than she had imagined it could, and she knew she couldn't drive much longer without sleep.
    On the other side of the cab, Chantal slept like a baby, her cheeks flushed from the heat, strands of black hair whipping out the open window.
    "Chantal, wake up."
    Chantal's mouth puckered like an infant's in search of a nipple. Her breasts flattened under her white tank top as she stretched. "What's wrong?"
    "You're going to have to drive for a while. I've got to get some sleep."
    "Driving makes me nervous, Honey. Just pull off at one of the roadside stops and take a nap."
    "We have to keep going or we'll never make it to Los Angeles by eight o'clock tomorrow morning. We're already way behind schedule."
    "I don't want to drive, Honey. It makes me too nervous."
    Honey considered pressing the issue and then decided against it. The last time she had made Chantal drive, her cousin had complained so much that Honey couldn't sleep anyway. Once