Chapter 7

The sun was now well to their left as they kept driving in stop-and-go traffic, past the elbow of the Cape and heading north. Too early in the long summer day to cast long shadows, every detail along the road was crystal clear, almost brutally illuminated, like a desert in which they might die if they weren’t successful in crossing it in time.

After Wellfleet but before Truro, David woke up from his nap as Lou pulled into the liquor warehouse he’d always intended to stop at because he always did. Once Lou entered the store, Bill helped David out of the car onto the hot asphalt parking lot radiating heat stored from the hottest hours of the afternoon.

“What did you talk about?” David demanded.

“Me?” Bill pointed at his own chest.

“With Lou. What did you talk about while I was asleep?”

“Not you, don’t worry. Not much of anything. I looked out the window.”

David yawned and started to wobble toward the entrance of the liquor store. “I know. I was just testing you. I wasn’t asleep.”