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“It’s not him,” Elsa said

“It could be”

Elsa slowed down “It’s not him”

“Who cares?” Ant said “He left”

“Shush,” Elsa said It was too late in the day for this They were all exhausted after hours of driving The gas gauge showed that they were nearly out of fuel

Elsa saw a gas station and pulled into it, sidled up to the pump

Nineteen cents per gallon One dollar and ninety cents to fill the tank

Elsa did the math in her head, recalculated the amount of money they would have when they drove away

An attendant caas

Across the street was a small auto court, with jalopies and trucks parked out front There were people seated on chairs in front of their rooms, with their loaded-down vehicles parked in attached carports A pink neon sign—turned off—read: VACANCY and 300/NIGHT

Three dollars

“Stay here,” Elsa said to the kids

She walked across the gravel parking lot to pay for the gas There were a few peopleover by the water pu on its haunches nearby A kid kicking a ball

A bell rang overhead as she opened the door Her stoiven her lunch to the kids She walked up to the cash register, which was operated by a woe hair

Elsa pulled her wallet out of her handbag and counted out one dollar and ninety cents and put it on the counter “Ten gallons of gas”