The Daily News. Page fourteen. A small story in the lower right-hand corner. She was not surprised, of course. Although she mourned and she grieved. Not as much as she needed to, though. She hadn't had the time to mourn properly. For one thing, Joe had been with her the whole time, almost since the moment she'd gotten home that evening. It wouldn't do to let on too much to Joe. For another, she had things to do. Calls to make. Loose ends to take care of and details that had to be kept quiet. Still, she could not pretend to be herself, and the next morning, she saw Joe watching her. She knew that scrutinizing gaze and she couldn't help but think: He knows. And then she almost laughed out loud because her next thought was: Of course he knows. Who was she kidding? He'd always known. The only question was how much he knew. She would miss Kid. She would miss her wonderful and precious possession. But already she was realizing she wouldn't miss him as much as she thought she would. Because he never should have tried to leave her.
