I began this story when Dad and I stopped in the small town of Gladstone, NM, on the way to Abiquiu during January of 2018. I wrote only two paragraphs into my journal. Here they are:

“We stopped at Gladstone NM Mercantile. Dry goods, art, rugs, snacks, breads. No one at the counter until I went into the kitchen and called out. A test? Of our honesty? Afternoon nap? Def. the opening scene to a suspense story.”