Zoe nodded. June eased the headphones through the window and the hat after. We watched Zoe fit the ear cups around Liam’s head, then lower the cap until it kissed his eyebrows. His shoulders dropped a fraction, like a fist loosening.
“Good,” Doc said, gentle as a lamplight. “Zoe, would you like to go first so you can show Liam how it’s done?”
Zoe shook her head. She pointed to Liam and then to the window. Her mouth shaped, He needs to see me outside.
June’s smile was small and fierce. “Okay. We’ll bring you both. I’ll be right here.”
The bus moaned. Metal spoke the language of strain. The second rope took load and sang a higher note. Rook glanced at the anchor and then at the churning gap where asphalt used to be. “We’re still good,” he said, which I took to mean we were good for the next minute and had to earn every one after.
