The lattice of the Quiet opened along the front seam at oh-six-thirty-three.
Caleb caught the motion from the curb and stayed seated. He kept his eyes off the laundromat door, held his attention on the asphalt, and let the change at the edge of his peripheral vision finish before he turned his head.
The seam opened the height of a woman.
Helena Park stepped out of the Quiet onto the bleached linoleum of the laundromat floor. She stood with her hand against the inside of the frame until her balance found her. Then she walked to the shop door, opened it, and stepped onto the sidewalk in a post-office shirt that was wrinkled and untucked on the right side.
Iris stood up. Caleb stood up. They gave her the sidewalk.
