The only television in the cottage was in the shop portion, and it was no great TV set. Fiji didn’t care that much about watching, though she heard all the time there was good programming that she really ought to see. But she always seemed to have something better to do. As Fiji, in her nightgown, padded to the bathroom to brush her teeth, she heard the television come on and saw the glow. Just as gently as she could, she closed the door between the shop and the residence. Mr. Snuggly came through the cat door, stopped by his bowls, and jumped up on Fiji’s bed the minute she climbed in. Fiji read some more of the Anne Rice novel, and worked a crossword puzzle, and caught herself yawning. She switched off her lamp and wiggled down in bed, Mr. Snuggly curled up at her feet.

Fiji said prayers every night, though she varied whom she prayed to. Tonight, she prayed for a smooth trip for Manfred and Teacher, and she also prayed that her sister would finally tell her why she’d really come to visit, and then find a reason to go.

6

At seven the next morning, Manfred and Teacher left for Killeen.

Teacher walked into Manfred’s yard holding a travel mug of coffee and looking morose just as Manfred was stowing his valise in the backseat. The two men nodded at each other, and Teacher got into the passenger seat. After a brief pause while Manfred put Agnes Orta’s address into his GPS, they drove south.

After Manfred had had his favorite morning beverage, CocaCola, and Teacher had worked on his coffee, Manfred found himself casting around to think of a topic of conversation. Manfred hadn’t met the new manager of Gas N Go yet, and he asked Teacher about the newcomer. Teacher told Manfred that he was okay. Teacher cataloged the repair jobs that had accumulated while he was employed at the convenience store and let Manfred know he was plenty upset about his truck failing him.

“What do you need to do in Killeen?” Manfred asked, after they’d listened to the morning news on the radio and agreed that the world was in sad shape. “I hope something that’ll take a couple of hours? I’ll be at least that long, I think.”

“I’ve got a friend there who handles this brand of tools I like a lot, so rather than order a few over the Internet and guess which one I’d really use, which one feels the best in my hand, I thought I’d take a look at ’em,” Teacher said. “He just e-mailed me to tell me he’d gotten in some new things, and I didn’t have a job scheduled for today, so I’d planned on driving down there. Kind of a treat to get away for a day. Thanks for letting me know you were going, man.”

“Fiji told me,” Manfred said. “It’s no big thing. Glad I could help. I guess these are pretty specialized tools?” Manfred only knew the basics about home repairs and tools, and he was trying to imagine how “special” a wrench could be.

“Some of them are special enough that I don’t know how often I’ll use them. The main thing is they’re very well made. So they’re pretty damn expensive,” Teacher said. “But my daddy always told me, don’t do to buy cheap tools.”

“Really? Huh.”

“Your daddy tell you the same thing?”

“I never met him, so he didn’t have the chance.” Manfred had had his whole life to get used to this state of affairs, but it was usually a shock to anyone else. Sure enough, Teacher turned and stared. “That sounds pretty rough,” Teacher said, after an appreciable pause.

“I’m used to it. Where did you grow up?” Manfred asked, just to get the conversation across that abyss.

“Alabama,” said Teacher.

“Never been there,” Manfred said. “You meet Madonna there? Childhood sweethearts?”

Though Manfred was focused on the road before him, he got the impression that Teacher shot him a sharp look. “We’ve known each other a long time,” Teacher said.

A curiously nonspecific answer, Manfred thought, and not what he’d expected. “So you grew up in the same town.”

“Nearabouts.”

“Can everyone in her family cook as well as Madonna can?”

“She says her granny could, but the talent sure skipped her mom. We’ll have to see about Grady.”

“Today Home Cookin, tomorrow Top Chef,” Manfred said, smiling. “Wouldn’t that be something?”

“How about you, Manfred? Where’d you grow up?”

“Tennessee,” he said. “A town outside of Memphis.”

“Had a big houseful?”

Manfred laughed. “No, just me and my mom, or more often me and my grandmother,” he said. “You have lots of siblings?”

“I did have a few,” Teacher said. “Two sisters and a brother.”

“Do you all keep in touch?” This conversation was on life support.

“Yeah, more or less. We talk at Christmas, but we don’t visit a lot.”

Manfred thought he could let it drop now, and they drove in silence for some time. Manfred was thinking about his business, and the ominous stain he’d noticed on the ceiling after the last rain. He was pretty sure his rented house needed a new roof. He’d have to hit up Bobo, his landlord. Bobo had been in such a bad mood in past few days that Manfred didn’t relish the prospect.

“Have you ever put a roof on?” he asked Teacher.

“I can. A roofing crew can do it a hell of a lot faster.”

“That’s something to think about,” Manfred said. “Hey, you need to make a pit stop? I could use some tea.” Tea was not available at the convenience store, but Manfred was glad enough to get another Coke. While Teacher bought a tube of powdered sugar doughnuts, Manfred enjoyed a gulp of icy sweetness. This road trip was turning out to be— not a disaster, certainly, but less than pleasant. Manfred felt uncomfortable at the prolonged close proximity to Teacher.

After another hour of listening to the radio and exchanging a few more terse comments on the news, they reached Killeen. Manfred couldn’t tell how Teacher felt about it, but Manfred was relieved. Teacher was able to direct Manfred right to his friend’s shop in the older part of town, the main street. Manfred pulled into an empty parking space to let Teacher out. He noted that there were some small restaurants on the same block, and he was relieved to know that if his session with Agnes Orta took longer than he expected, Teacher wouldn’t have to be sitting on the sidewalk twiddling his thumbs. “I’ll call you when I’m through,” he said. “You good?”