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"Who is hurt?!" Lacey shouts She’s unbuckled herself fro into the wayback When I turn around, I can see that the back door has popped open, and for a moment I think that Radar has been thrown fro his hands over his face, and he says, "I’m okay I’m okay Is everyone okay?"

Lacey doesn’t even respond; she just ju over the apartment’s kitchen, and she looks at Ben She says, "Sweetie, where are you hurt?" Her eyes are overfull of water like a swi pool on a rainy day And Ben says, "I’"

She turns to me, and I shouldn’t cry but I do, not because it hurts, but because I am scared, and I raisedat me, and she looks at me kind of the way a mom does, and that shouldn’t crack me open, but it does I know the cut onto say so, but I keep crying Lacey is pressing against the cut with her fingers, thin and soft, and shouting at Ben for soot a sainst ht of ht; you’re fine does anything else hurt?" and I say no That’s when I realize that the car is still running, and still in gear, stopped only because I’ on the brakes I put it into park and turn it off When I turn it off, I can hear liquid leaking--not dripping so et out," Radar says I hold the Confederate flag toout of the car continues

"It’s gas! It’s gonna blow!" Ben shouts He throws open the passenger door and takes off, running in a panic He hurdles a split-rail fence and tears across a hay field I get out as well, but not in quite the same hurry Radar is outside, too, and as Ben hauls ass, Radar is laughing "It’s the beer," he says

"What?"

"The beers all broke," he says again, and nods toward the split-open cooler, gallons of foa out from inside it

We try to call Ben but he can’t hear us because he’s too busy screaraduation robe flies up in the gray dawn, his bony bare ass exposed

I turn and look out at the highway as I hear a car co The white beast and her spotted friend have successfully ambled to the safety of the opposite shoulder, still iainst the fence

I’e when Ben finally schleps back to the car As we spun, we e on the sliding door, deep enough that if you look closely, you can just see inside the van But other than that, it looks immaculate No other dents No s broken No flat tires I walk around to close the back door and appraise the 210 broken bottles of beer, still bubbling Lacey findsat the rivulet of foae ditch beneath us "What happened?" she asks

I tell her: ere dead, and then Ben ht way, like some kind of brilliant vehicular ballerina

Ben and Radar have crawled underneath the minivan Neither of them knows shit about cars, but I suppose it makes them feel better The hem of Ben’s robe and his naked calves peek out

"Dude," Radar shouts "It looks, like, fine"

"Radar," I say, "the car spun around like eight times Surely it’s not fine"

"Well it see at Ben’s New Balances "Hey, come out here" He scoots his way out, and I offer hiunk I grab hi him If I had not ceded control of the wheel, and if he had not assumed control of the vessel so deftly, I’ his back probably too hard "That was the best da I’ve ever seen in reasy hand "I did it to save myself, not you," he says "Believe h "Nor you e of s damned cow It wasn’t even a cow so h

Radar scoots out then "Dude, I really think it’s fine I mean, we’ve only lost like fivespeed"

Lacey is looking at the gouge in the minivan, her lips pursed "What do you think?" I ask her

"Go," she says

"Go," Radar votes

Ben puffs out his cheeks and exhales "Mostly because I’o"

"Go," I say "But I’ anyet into theembankloe

Hour Thirteen

Every couple uys re to die and then Ben grabbed the steering wheel and dodged a ginor cow and spun the car like the teacups at Disney World and we didn’t die?"

Lacey leans across the kitchen, her hand on Ben’s knee, and says, "I ive out medals for this stuff"

"I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I wasn’t thinking about none of y’all I Wanted To Save My Ass"

"You liar You heroic, adorable liar," she says, and then plants a kiss on his cheek

Radar says, "Hey guys, do you remember that time I was double-seat-belted in the wayback and the door flew open and the beer fell out but I survived completely uninjured? How is that even possible?"

"Let’s play metaphysical I Spy," Lacey says "I Spy with my little eye a hero’s heart, a heart that beats not for itself but for all humanity"

"I’M NOT BEING MODEST I JUST DIDN’T WANT TO DIE," Ben exclaiuys reo, that we somehow didn’t die?"

Hour Fourteen

Once the initial shock passes, we clean We try to shepherd as lass from the broken Bluefin bottles as possible onto pieces of paper and then gather the for later disposal The minivan’s carpet is soaked with sticky Mountain Dew and Bluefin and Diet Coke, and we try to sop it up with the few napkins we’ve collected But this will require a serious car wash, at the very least, and there’s no tiloe Radar has looked up the side panel replaceoing up, but I’llin my dad’s office, and anyway, it’s a sht My cheek is still bleeding The Confederate flag is stuck to the wound now, so I no longer need to hold it there

Hour Fifteen

A thin stand of oak trees obscures the cornfields that stretch out to the horizon The landscape changes, but nothing else Big interstates like this one le place: McDonald’s, BP, Wendy’s I know I should probably hate that about interstates and yearn for the halcyon days of yore, back when you could be drenched in local color at every turn-- but whatever I like this I like the consistency I like that I can drive fifteen hours fro too much Lacey double-belts me down in the wayback "You need the rest," she says "You’ve been through a lot" It’s a ainst the cow

As I trail off, I hear theh--not the words exactly, but the cadence, the rising and falling pitches of banter I like just listening, just loafing on the grass And I decide that if we get there on time but don’t find her, that’s e’ll do: we’ll drive around the Catskills and find a place to sit around and hang out, loafing on the grass, talking, telling jokes Maybe the sure knowledge that she is alive ain--even if I never see proof of it I can alo, to feel our roots are connected even if I never see that leaf of grass again

Hour Sixteen

I sleep

Hour Seventeen

I sleep

Hour Eighteen

I sleep