In the Valley: Stories and a Novella Based on Serena
Ron RashThe outside lights and gas pumps were turned off, the register emptied.
He kept the gun tucked in his jeans, picked up the broom and, not looking
up, began sweeping his way around the shelves. All that was left was to shut
off the radio and inside lights. Then, the woman having given up and gone
away, Carlyle could do what he did almost every night before going home, sit
a few minutes in the dark on the store’s back porch. He’d smoke a cigarette
and watch headlights pass below on the interstate. After hours of dealing with
people, the soft yellow glow soothed him, as did the sound of the vehicles
themselves, a sound like approaching rain.
Now, two years later, the song on the radio brought back that night, and
that the woman at the door had not gone away.
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