SUSAN WAS IN the kitchen, about to drive Amy to school, when Molly called from the diner.
“Oh good, I’m so glad I caught you,” Molly said. In her sixties now, she had opened Molly’s Diner thirty years back, when the paper mill was still going strong. Somehow she’d kept the place open through all the economic ups and downs—mostly downs—since then. Susan respected the hell out of her.
“Hi, Molly, I’m just on my way out the door.”
“Any chance you could take dinner tonight? Nancy and Eileen both have colds, and I’m a little desperate.”
Susan did a quick calculation. She loved Friday nights at home with Amy, playing Monopoly or watching a movie. On the other hand, weekend nights were pretty good at the diner and they could use the tips right now, especially since Danny’s three leads from the open house hadn’t panned out.
As for Danny, he liked having dinner ready when he got home, especially at the end of a long week. But he’d said he would be working ’til seven or eight, prepping a property on Scofield Road for an open house tomorrow. When Danny came home that late, all he really wanted was crackers, cheese, and a beer in front of the TV watching basketball. So he should be okay with her working tonight.
She needed to get Amy taken care of, though. So she told Molly she’d make a quick call and get back to her.
Amy tapped her feet impatiently and whined, “Mommy, we’re gonna be late.”
Susan said, “How’d you like to hang out with Grandma after school today?”
Amy immediately brightened, clapping her hands. “We can make bracelets!”
“I’m sure Grandma would love that,” Susan said, and dialed her mom. They hadn’t spoken in three days, ever since she asked her mom to keep her new boyfriend—Frank was his name—away from Amy. Hopefully, Lenora wouldn’t still be pissed off.
Her mom lived less than a mile away, in a trailer on 9N. She picked up on the second ring. “Who is this?” she growled in her morning voice.
“Hi, Mom, I didn’t wake you, did I?”
Lenora was silent for a couple moments, then finally said, “You beat my alarm by five minutes. What’s up? Everything okay?”
Susan sighed inwardly, relieved her mom had decided not to hold a grudge. “I wanted to know if you could take Amy this afternoon.”
“Sure, okay. You want me to pick her up at school?”
“That would be great. Thanks, Mom.”
“And don’t worry, I won’t bring Frank. Even though you’re totally wrong about him.”
“Love you, Mom,” Susan said.
As she hung up, Danny walked in, smelling of the aftershave Susan and Amy had bought him for his birthday. She told him, “Molly called. I’m taking dinner tonight, okay? Mom will pick up Amy.”
He nodded distractedly and set about making his coffee just the way he liked it. He’d been a little down ever since all his leads fell through. Trying to cheer him up, Susan said, “Come by Molly’s tonight. She’ll give you a free dinner, and there’s a really cute waitress named Susan who’ll flirt with you.”
Before Danny could respond, Amy tugged on Susan’s arm. “Mommy, I’m gonna be really, really late.”
Danny turned lively for the first time this morning. “Did the tooth fairy come last night?” he asked.
“Yeah! She gave me two whole dollars!”
“Wow, she must really like you. Have a great day, Amy Shlamy,” Danny said.
“Bye, Daddy Shladdy,” Amy said. Danny smiled. Amy always made him smile no matter what mood he was in.
Susan and Amy got in the car and rode off to school, passing the Homestead Motel. There were always ten or twenty unfortunate people staying there, and one of them was out front this morning, getting what looked like a toolbox out of his rusty old car and eyeing the Dodge Dart as it drove by. He had a flat, tired face and looked like he’d had a hard life. Amy fingered the blue unicorn on her necklace and said, “You know the coolest thing about unicorns?”
“What’s that, honey?”
Amy proceeded to chatter away about unicorns and centaurs, but Susan only half-listened. She was thinking about a conversation she and Danny had in bed last night, about her going back to college.
Susan had gotten her Associate’s at Adirondack Community College when she was twenty-one, shortly after they got married. She’d always meant to go back for her B.A. and maybe study nursing. But she didn’t really like school, was never very good at it, and working at Molly’s was just too comfortable. Then she’d had the pregnancies and miscarriages, and then Amy was born and Susan devoted her life to her.
But now, as she had told Danny last night, “I’m thinking maybe I should start taking some courses again.”
“Maybe Anatomy or Human Growth and Development. The courses you need for nursing school.”
“I’m all for it, honey,” Danny had said, running his hand down her arm. “Let’s just save up a little money first. Soon as the market turns around we’ll be solid again, and we won’t have to take out a loan.”
Susan was grateful Danny didn’t pressure her to make more money. But at some point, she needed to decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.
Amy was still talking. “Mommy?” she said, in an annoyed tone. “Mommy, you’re not listening.”
Susan turned off 9N into the long school driveway. “I’m sorry, honey, what were you saying?”
“I’m never gonna take this necklace off,” Amy said, rubbing her dolphin bead. “Never.”
Susan smiled. “Even when you take a bath?”
“Nope.”
“Even when you go to sleep?”
Amy gave her head a vigorous shake. “Nope. Not even when I die.”
They pulled up in front of the school, a brick building the town had built twenty years ago when it had more money. Amy’s three best friends, Sherry, Kate, and Sandy, were on the sidewalk out front.
“I love you, sweetie. Grandma will pick you up at three thirty.”
“Love you too, Mommy.”
Amy gave her a quick kiss and skipped off with her friends, as Susan drove away.
Most mornings after dropping Amy off, Susan went back home. Danny would leave for work, and she would clean the kitchen and read the Post-Star before heading to Molly’s. It was her quiet time, all to herself.
But today, since she’d be cooped up all day, she decided to go walking on the River Road next to the Hudson. It was the height of mud season, so she stayed on the road itself. The sun was shining and it had to be at least fifty degrees. It might even make it up to sixty this afternoon.
She enjoyed the river views and the country music station on her Walkman—a lot of Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Susan’s favorite celebrity couple. She waved hi to the drivers of all the cars and trucks that went by. A lot of them she knew personally.
When Susan finished her walk, she drove to Stone’s, where she bought kids’ toothpaste for Amy, and the IGA, where she got Danny’s favorite spaghetti sauce for tomorrow night. Then she headed for Molly’s, seven miles away, and got there in plenty of time for the lunch rush.
Not that it was much of a rush. The first customers to straggle in were four elderly women in wool coats who took a corner booth. They came here every Friday and always tipped poorly. But Susan tried not to judge them. She guessed this might be their big social event of the week, the one thing they had enough money for, barely.
Around noon some road repairmen came in, followed by two tables of people from the town hall, but when she added up all her tips, it only came to twenty dollars.
“Tonight’ll be better,” Molly promised. “And if it isn’t, I’ll throw in some extra.”
“No problem,” Susan said, thinking twenty dollars would cover an afternoon movie for her and Amy tomorrow while Danny did his open house. They could see Mulan for the third time—Amy looooooooooooved that movie.
She checked in with Danny around two thirty. He sounded like he was having an average day; not too inspiring but not too discouraging either.
“I’m on my way to the Scofield Road house, see if I can make it presentable,” he said. “You still working tonight?”
“Yeah. If you’re too tired to come by, you want me to bring you home a hamburger?”
“Sure, thanks. I’ll pick up Amy from your mom around seven thirty, when I’m finished at Scofield.”
“Okay.”
They rang off, and Susan hit the sofa in the back room for a nap. The sofa was saggy and technically nowhere near as comfortable as her bed at home, but somehow she always got her best sleep here. Danny could be a little restless at night. She slept until five and woke up refreshed, ready to work.
Dinner went a lot better than lunch. A full day of spring weather had put people in the mood to go out on the town. The turkey chili special was a big hit tonight, and most of the diners were generous with their tips. Susan worked constantly, and by eight o’clock she had already made forty in tips with more to come.
Then Molly stepped away from the front register and walked up to her as she was picking up an order from the cook. “You got a phone call,” Molly said.
“Can you take a message?”
“I think you better get it. It’s Danny.”
Susan could tell right away from Molly’s tone there was a problem. This wasn’t just about whether Danny wanted cheese on his burger. She hurried to the register and grabbed the phone.
“Hi, what’s up?” she said.
Danny’s voice came back. “Do you know where Amy is?”
“She’s with Mom.”
“I was just at her house. Nobody’s there.”
Susan didn’t get why he was so worried. “They must have gone out somewhere. Maybe they’re coming to Molly’s.”
“I just got home. There’s a message on our machine from this morning, from your mom. Saying she’s sorry, but she just remembered she’s busy tonight, so she can’t take Amy.”
Susan stared at the phone. Amy wasn’t with her mom. She wasn’t with Danny. She wasn’t with her.
But school ended four hours ago!
Where the hell is Amy?