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your teeth,” I snapped.
    “Shut the hell up, Faye,” he grumbled, but he disappeared
and came back with different pants on.
    Dev offered to drive. There was no question I’d be up front
with Dev, which put Ray in the back seat of the fully refurbished black
Cutlass.
    As I climbed in, my shoe caught on a large canvas bag on the
floor of the passenger seat.
    “Just throw that in the back,” Dev said.
    “What is it?” I lifted the bag, intending to hand it to Ray,
but then I saw envelopes inside. “Working for the post office?”
    “Yeah, undercover,” Dev laughed. He turned the key, and the
engine roared to life. “It’s from my job. You know, looking for cashable
checks. I hit a good bag last week, but I can’t take anymore after this one.
They’ll get suspicious.”
    “Glad to see you raised your crime standards from petty to
federal,” I said, needling him.
    “God, what the hell is up with you, Faye? Stop getting all
over me. You ain’t so fucking clean either.”
    “You know man, I don’t do crap like this anymore.” I shook
the bag. “And I’m not cool driving around with it. Either you leave it at Ray’s
or I’ll take my Jeep.”
    Dev looked at me and shook his head. He twisted around to
look behind him. “Ray, throw that bag in the house, will you?” He looked back
at me as Ray grabbed the bag and hopped out.
    “You sold out.”
    “What the hell are you talking about? Working a legit job is
selling out?”
    “Yeah. Come on, not getting high, and working that nine to
five every day? Bet you’re breaking your fucking back. And for what? How much
is old Abe paying you?”
    “It doesn’t matter. It’s a job,” I ground out, not wanting
to talk about the crappy money I was making. “As soon as Julia’s in remission,
I’m outta here.”

5.
Claudia
     
    It was easy to work with Mrs. Faye. Within the first week, I
became familiar with her preferences and how orderly she liked to keep the
house, right down to the medication bottles lined up neatly on a tray at her
bedside. There was very little accumulation of items in any room of the house, so
I was careful to put everything I used away.
    I spent most of my time cooking, cleaning, and checking in
on Mrs. Faye. I saw very little of Toby. Most times we would say a quick hello
before he went out, and each night before I left I would bring him up-to-date
on anything that happened during my shift.
    It was the end of the night, just before he came home that I
liked best. It was then I could sit with Mrs. Faye and talk. I liked to listen
as she told me about what was happening in the lives of her church friends. Her
insight and clarity intrigued me, so much so that when she started to ask me
personal questions, I felt comfortable opening up to her. It was easy to talk
to her, and she took an interest in what I had to say.
    On Friday of my third week, I had to leave my car at the
mechanic shop overnight. I was not happy about the inconvenience, but I didn’t
have classes. Dad drove me to the Fayes’ that night. I intended to walk home
later.
    “I heard your mother moved back to California. What’s she up
to these days?” Mrs. Faye asked, as we were finishing up that night. Propped up
in her bed, she looked older than her fifty-three years.
    “She’s a real estate agent in San Diego,” I said, handing
her the evening’s medications and a glass of ginger ale to settle her stomach.
    “That must be difficult having her so far away.”
    I shrugged. “Sure, but my parents can’t be around each
other. They just fight. But, I see my mother as much as I can. She’s always
trying to get me to come out there. So I decided to transfer to school out by
her in the fall.”
    “You’re going away?”
    “Hopefully,” I said. “I’m crossing my fingers and my toes
that everything goes through. And that my dad goes along with it.”
    “He doesn’t approve?” Her eyebrows arched over her bright
blue eyes as she questioned me.
    “Dad’s so