She paid at the front counter. She put her card back in her wallet, picked up the carrier, and paused at the door.
"He didn't even cry."
"He's a good cat."
"He cries at Caldwell."
She left.
My phone buzzed on the counter at two-fifteen.
Easton.
Easton
Open day going alright?
Astrid
One walk-in. Three hours of nothing in between.
Easton
Want me to come by?
Astrid
You're on shift.
Easton
I'm at the station eating Halsey's eggs. I can come by.
Astrid
Eat your eggs.
Easton
I can come by with eggs.
I smiled at the phone. I'd been smiling at the phone for a week, and I wasn't ready to look at what that meant yet, but I wasn't trying to stop it either.
Astrid
Save them for me. Come by tonight.
Easton
Tonight. Locked door, deadbolt, the whole performance.
Astrid
The whole performance.
I set the phone face down on the counter.
The afternoon settled into the shape of an afternoon at a practice nobody was coming to. Two o'clock came and went. Three came in the same shape.
