She groaned and shaded her eyes with her forearms. Squinting, she looked around. Something was missing. Joe.  She was alone. She lay like that for moments, staring at the ceiling, feeling the hollowness scraped out of her chest, leaving her empty inside. So silly to feel this way about any man, least of all one that was dead. Moments later as she leaned over the sink brushing her teeth, the bathroom door open, Joe appeared in her peripheral. She spat out toothpaste. “New Jersey again?” she asked, pleased at hitting the casual note. “Miss me?” He grinned. “Always.” She scooped water in her hand and rinsed out her mouth, spitting the residue out. Sometimes being with Joe was like being with a brother. One she liked a lot more than her real half-brother, a mama’s boy who made Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley look courageous. “What’s on the agenda today?” Joe asked. “It’s time to get out of Dodge.” She patted her mouth with a washcloth and picked up a phone.
