The car rolled through clean residential streets still damp from the night before. A few lawns glittered under the morning light. Flags stirred lazily on porches. The world looked ordinary in the way only temporary things could.

Nathan sat in the back seat with his meeting clothes on and his hair smoothed carefully into place, though one side had already begun to rebel. He held his Bible with both hands and stared out the window for a while, then down at the cover, then back outside again.

Sasha sat in the passenger seat, one hand resting near the window. Her face was calm, but Samuel knew the difference between calm and thoughtful. Her silence had shape to it.

For several minutes, the only sounds were the tires on the road and Nathan’s quiet humming.

Then Sasha said, “I saw something on the news this morning.”

Samuel turned briefly and replied, “Oh yeah?”