Teddy said, wondering if the old Cadillac was going to get so hot it boiled over.“Perhaps you should be, though,” Aurora said, polishing her rings. When in doubt, she polished her rings—lately they had been treated to a lot of polishing.The two of them were stuck in traffic on I-45, the freeway that led to Huntsville and the prison. She herself intended to remain true to her vow: she did not intend to go into the prison and see Tommy. But Teddy argued that, however perverse Tommy was, he was still one of them. The family could not simply abandon him. He was planning to go in and visit Tommy himself, leaving Aurora in the car. Jane had been against it—she felt Tommy ought to sit and cool his heels until he felt like behaving a little better. Rosie was for it, the General was of two minds, and Aurora herself of at least two minds. Every thought or mention of Tommy upset her.“Where is the little red needle?” she asked, peering nervously at the Cadillac’s temperature gauge. The traffic ahead of them and behind them seemed to be congealed—she was very hot, but of course there was no thought of using the air conditioner in such a traffic jam.
