Clare was crying now, her voice breaking apart. We still owe eighty seven thousand dollars on that car loan, she said. I started the engine. It’s just money, I said. You can earn more. That’s what you told me, right.
I backed out of the driveway. In my rearview mirror I could see Derek shouting into his phone, Clare sobbing with her hands pressed over her face, Barbara standing frozen in place, Richard looking helpless and defeated. Then Tyler came outside and looked around at all the adults yelling and crying. Why is everyone mad, he asked. Nobody answered him. I drove down the long driveway and left them all standing in the ruins they themselves had built.
Two hours later I was home in Nashville. It was ten in the morning and my phone would not stop ringing. Clare. Barbara. Richard. Derek. Clare again. Barbara again. I blocked every number, made a pot of coffee, and sat on my porch. Finally, quiet. Then an unknown number called through. I answered it.
Derek’s voice came through shaking, though trying hard to sound determined. We’re getting it out, he said. Getting what out, I asked. The car, he said. I called a tow company. They have a crane. How much is that costing you, I asked. Forty five hundred for the crane, he said. Eight hundred for the tow. I laughed before I could stop myself. What’s funny, he demanded. You left the windows open, remember, I said. Silence. Water damage, I said. Engine, electronics, interior, all of it. Even if they recover the car, it’s finished. His voice cracked. You knew that, he asked. Yeah, I said, and hung up.
