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pocket. He pushed it into Marcus’s good hand.
    “Thanks, kid. You’re good people.” Marcus climbed out of the car and straightened his clothing with his bloody mitt. “How do I look?”
    “Like C-C-Clooney.” Alex turned off the car. He followed Marcus up a walkway, past dandelions and crabgrass, to a peeling metal door.
    “I can do this alone, kid. I don’t need a babysitter.”
    “T-t-tough.”
    Lisa opened the door like it was three in the morning. Her hair was a mess, as if she’d just climbed out of bed. She scratched her arms through her cotton nightie. Marcus found himself wishing she looked a little better in front of the kid. She glanced down at Marcus’s hand and gasped. “What did you do to yourself?”
    “Alex here was checking out his dad’s gun when I stopped by the old house. I thought, Whoa. Kid. Gun. I gotta do something about this.” Marcus gave her an embarrassed half-smile. “So I take the gun away. Make sure it’s not loaded and all that. Well, doesn’t the damn thing go off, shoot me in the hand.” Now he’d made himself sound like a total clumsy idiot. He added quickly, “Could have happened to anyone.”
    Lisa took Marcus’s arm and looked closely at the towel. “Are you serious? You better get to the hospital before you lose too much blood!”
    “We’re going.”
    “We should call 911,” Lisa said.
    Marcus motioned toward Alex. “He’s taking me.
    “What? He’s just a little kid!”
    “H-hey!” said Alex.
    “He’s a great driver. I just wanted to give you.” He opened his good hand and showed Lisa the ring. Maybe it had belonged to her grandma. Maybe the green stone was a real emerald. But it looked smaller and less important than he remembered.
    Lisa smiled. She pushed the ring onto her finger and held up her hand. Then she did just what he’d imagined fifty times that day. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Kissed him all over his face. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, baby! I knew you’d do it. I just knew it.”
    She admired the ring again, then paused. She looked down at her nightie. Blood from Marcus’s wounded hand had stained the cotton. She tried to wipe it away, frowning.
    Alex caught Marcus’s eye. Marcus looked away.
    Lisa waved toward her bedroom door. “I’d come with you, but I was right in the middle of. of something. But you could call me after, okay? Letme know what happens, and I’ll come right over and see you.”
    “What?” Marcus said to Alex when they were back in the car. “Lisa didn’t know I was going to show up half dead. She was in the middle of something.”
    Alex nodded.
    “Not everyone can just up and go to the Emergency Room, you know. Adults have things they have to do. Work and paying bills and other stuff.”
    Alex started the engine. Marcus turned on the radio. The hum of the motor mixed with the beat of Guns N’ Roses. “Sweet Child O’ Mine” had the happy effect of taking away the need to talk. Alex focused on driving; Marcus lay back in his seat.
    “She’s even prettier in real life, don’t you think?” Marcus asked.
    The kid sucked in a tired breath.
    “You should see her with her hair done. And when she’s dressed nice. Looks like a magazine cover model. The first time I saw her, I swear, I thought I’d seen her before on Cosmo.”
    Alex slowed, signalled, and turned right as smoothly as if he’d been driving all his life.
    “One time we were getting burgers,” Marcus said. “She was wearing this pink dress. Or maybe light purple.” His eyes searched the car ceiling for a clue. “Doesn’t matter which. The guy behind the counter gives her a free meal. Just because she’s so pretty. You ever heard of that happening to anyone? Ever?”
    Alex shrugged.
    “Mom never liked her,” Marcus went on. “But mothers and girlfriends get jealous of each other, I think.” He stared out the window. “Craziest thing.”
    Alex turned into the hospital parking lot. He parked the car