“Ma’am?”

Tina blinked a few times and tried to process where she was. “Hm?”

“Ma’am, are you alright?”

Tina turned her head slightly and looked at the officer next to her. “I’m sorry,” she said suddenly.

The cop, who looked very young, furrowed his brow slightly. “Sorry?”

“I got in the front. I was supposed to ride in the back, wasn’t I?”

“No, ma’am. The front is fine.” The police officer turned off the ignition and came around the side of the car, and opened Tina’s door for her. He helped her to stand up and closed the passenger side door. “Are you going to be alright?”

Tina nodded.

“I’m real sorry about your store, ma’am. Don’t you worry, we’ll figure out who did it.”

Tina forced a smile as if to reassure the younger man so that he would leave her in peace. As if catching the person who had burnt her store to the ground would change anything. It was gone.

“Thank you. Goodnight.”

Tina walked slowly up to her porch and fumbled in her purse for her keys. Her fingers brushed up against her phone, which was vibrating. She ignored it and went inside and closed and locked the door. She was too numb to feel anything. She sat down on the couch, and simply to have something to do, checked her phone. There were text messages from Grant and Bette offering support. Grant’s messages were more insistent, of course. She checked her voicemail – there were more calls. The two older ladies she employed, Miss Edna and Miss Jean, as she called them, had both left messages with dreadfully upset voices asking what had happened. Grant had left two messages. The first one sounded alarmed, frantic even, wondering if she was okay and how something like this had happened. The second was more pleading – “Let me be there for you. I need to see that you’re okay.” But Tina couldn’t deal with seeing him right now. It would only prolong the breakup and make it that much more difficult if she let herself be comforted by him.