"Two more stops, then I'm really on my way," she thought. She glanced over at the cat curled up in the passenger seat and extended her hand to stroke along the curl of his back. He rolled onto his back and grabbed her hand, ready to play.

"Oh no you don't. We can't play and drive." She withdrew her hand and placed it back on the steering wheel. The kitten mewed, but immediately curled back up to nap. She sped past the sign that said "Exit 81, Belle - Kanawha City, 1 mile." Maybe she didn't need a carrier. It sure would save time if all she had to do was stop at Big Bill's and not get into the mess that Walmart always seemed to be. No, she had better do as Kathy had said. At least about this small issue. She flipped the turn signal and bore down the exit ramp.

30 harried minutes later she was back on the road, the carrier, a litter box and other supplies for her new charge stowed in the back seat. "One more stop, Abiram. Just one more stop." The kitten immediately raised his head in recognition of the name. Sharon raised her eyebrows. "Looks like Louie got it right." She was more than ready to get the goodbyes over with. Ready to stop looking behind, and start looking ahead.


She soon pulled off the interstate again, drove through the back streets of Charleston until she came to Big Bill's shop. She reached into her purse for the papers she had come into town last week to sign at the office of Kathy's attorney. She hefted the packet in her hand, thinking. Instead of taking them with her, she shoved them under the driver's seat of the Toyota.

Jimmy Smith looked up from his desk as she walked through the door. "Bill's out back, getting ready to load up a bulldozer," he said. Sharon walked on through to the fenced gravelled yard behind the building. Bill had been watching for her and headed her way as soon as she appeared in the wide doorway to the equipment bay.

He smiled warmly at his niece and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to his office. "So, are you all ready to go be a college coed again?" he asked brightly.

"I am, Big Bill. I really am."

They walked into his tiny cubby of an office. The desk has strewn with grease-stained papers weighted down by assorted small parts to prevent them from getting blown around by the fan propped in the window. Bill moved behind the desk and picked up a shoe box, one of these big boxes that men's work boots come in. The labels were yellowed with age, and the cardboard was mottled with mildew. It showed some signs of water damage.

"I found this up on the shelf in Mom's closet when we were going through her things. It has taken me awhile to get to it to see what all was in it. I finally got to it last week. It is full of letters between Cassie and her mother, Emma. I don't know why, really, but somehow, you seem the proper guardian."