He called Tasha from the car.
It rang twice and she picked up with the specific energy of someone who was already in the middle of something and had answered without fully leaving it.
"Hey," she said.
"Where are you," he said.
"Pet store," she said. "Tim's. On Caldwell Road. I'm here with Kira."
He looked at the road ahead. "I'll be there shortly."
A pause on her end. "Okay," she said, and the okay was not warm but it was not closed either, which he decided to take as something.
He drove.
---
Tim's Pet Store was the kind of small business that had decided its signage was going to make a statement and had committed to that fully.
