Offering to get her guest's things might've seemed like a small gesture to Joyce, but it got her a look of profound gratitude, one as loud as any exclamation and underscored by “Thank you.” Sam stood still long enough to indulge in a shoulder-slumping sigh of relief, then began patting her pockets down until she found---well, she found one rabbit's foot, the other rabbit's foot, a gas station receipt, lip chap and then the keys to her suburban. She handed them over with no hesitation, clapping Joyce on the shoulder as soon as her hand was free.

“Just got two; a duffel and a sleeping back, rolled up in the back. It's not locked right now. You'll probably be there and inside again in half the time it'd take me. And again? Thanks.” With that, Sam turned to head in. Only once she'd stepped back into the house did she remember she'd been out in sock feet; now that the soles were dark with dirt and dead grass, she peeled her socks off and went back to the sofa. “Sorry to take so long.”