Before dawn on the morning of the fourth of July, Carly Machen declared her independence.
She arose well before sunup, her brain burning with a nervous energy. She looked at the suitcase on the floor of her bedroom, packed neatly with socks, her toothbrush, a few changes of clothes. Everything she would need for a few weeks in her new home fit neatly into a single bag at the foot of her bed. For a moment, she wavered, unsure if she would be able to go through with it. But she shook off her fear and sat down at her kitchen table, pen and paper in hand. She wrote a note to Doris and a resignation letter to Jimmy, folded them separately, and addressed each of them before placing both letters into a single envelope. She took the suitcase from her bedroom and placed it gently into the trunk of
