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"You are a disappointment to me in every way," Isa replies, and I shake my head

The doors slide open, another senior citizen shopper strolling in as I finish with ister and take the cash drawer to Mrs Miller’s office At rocery stores, clerks count the e eiven Mrs Miller trust issues, and to be honest, I’m happy to leave that chore to someone else anyway

That done, I azine racks lining the register lanes that a bunch of them have been turned around, the ads on their backs, rather than the covers, facing the custo I walk up to a rack and turn the nearest backward azine to face ht teeth, and then my eyes land on the headline, printed in bold yellow script: "TEN THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ELLIE WINTERS!"

I wonder if any of the ten things would surprise h

My sister has lived a life pretty free from the scandalous, alazines I’h, but then decide that "A," it would be weird and "B," Isabel did go to the trouble of trying to hide thebad this tiured you didn’t need to see!"

Giving her a thumbs-up, I continue toward the door at the far side of the store

My stuff is in the break rooreen plastic chairs, and a scratched laminate table At some point, someone had carved "BECKY LOVES JOSH" into the top of it, and every ti, I wondered what became of Becky and Josh Were they still in love? Had Becky been as insanely bored here as I was?

Although, hey, at least Becky was never confronted with pictures of her sister on the front of tabloids

Or being in the tabloids herself for that h

The whole proer and hurt, a thorny ball lodged right ina sore tooth You forget just how much the tooth aches until you focus on it, and then suddenly it’s all you can think about

Which ht start crying in the break roo on earththan that scenario That’s likethat

Instead, I heftonto htness and heat of the late-May afternoon is intense as I walk outside and into the parking lot, and I squint, reaching into do for the rest of the afternoon Mostly, it involves draping a I picked up from the bookstore yesterday

"Dais"

And there’s that sore tooth

Great

Michael is leaning against one of the yellow-painted concrete pylons in front of the store, one ankle crossed in front of the other, dark hair falling in his eyes He’s probably been practicing that pose Michael Dorset is a champion leaner, one of the best, really In the Olyold in the Hot Lean every time