“It’ll make a dent.”
Cherry shrugged.
Tom frowned at her. “Were you coming in here for the shovel?”
“No. I came out to check the fuse box.”
“Is the power out?”
“Maybe. At least on the main floor.”
Tom set the shovel down and tried the garage light. It was dead. He opened the fuse box. Cherry stood behind him. “I think the power must be out,” he said. “Probably ice on the lines.”
“Hopefully it won’t be out all night.”
He lowered his eyebrows at her. “Is your phone charged? There’s a camping battery in the basement.”
“It’s charged. I’ll be okay. You should get home—see if your dad has power.”
“Yeah, maybe I will.” He shut the fuse box.
“You won’t miss blizzards in California, huh? Though I guess they have earthquakes...”
“And wildfires.”
“And landslides, right?”
Tom was giving her a serious, squinty look, like he was still worried about something. “Cherry, I’m...”
Cherry waited.
“I signed a lease,” he said. “In Pasadena.”
“Oh.” She nodded. She reminded herself (again) that this wasn’t a surprise. She knew that Tom was moving away for good; it was the only reason he came home. “I thought you were looking in Los Angeles.”
“It’s a suburb. Basically.”
“Oh. An apartment?”
“No. A house. I wanted a yard for Stevie. If I like it there, maybe I’ll buy something.”
Cherry furrowed her brow. “For... like, for when Stevie visits? Do you want Stevie to visit?”
Tom narrowed his eyes further. He looked confused. “No, I mean—I can take her now. When I go. I got a place that allows dogs.”
Cherry clenched her teeth. She felt her nostrils flare. “Tom. You can’t take Stevie.”
He shook his head. “What?”
“You can’t justtakeStevie.”
He shook his head some more. “Cherry, you were mad that Ididn’ttake her before.”
“No, I was mad that youleftme with her!”
“It’s the same difference.”
“It is not!”
