Lenny stood still. The three adults sat in the cab until Shilah leaned across Julie and said, “Agnes? This him?”
Agnes scratched behind her ear and sank her chin into her neck with a ragged breath.
“It’s him, sure,” she said, but she made no move to exit the truck. She brushed at her pants with her hands.
“Go to him, Agnes,” Julie said. “He knows you. If Shilah goes, he might think he’s a pervert.”
Shilah drummed his fingers on the horn. As he reached for the door handle in a huff, Agnes said, “Huh,” and opened her door, too, so they both stepped down from the truck cab at the same time and walked on the frozen dirt toward the boy.
The boy stood his ground. Shilah swaggered, kicking at the odd stone, jerking his neck as if to release kinks. Agnes kept pace, her head angled, forci
