He didn’t notice her alongside him until Holly spoke. “Oh, it’s um…” Brian held up the paper. It was upside down. He flipped it around. The advertisement had been drawn by hand in black ink and photocopied a hundred times. He knew that because he had done the copying for the kid in Billie’s office at the record shop, not that his boss realized it. “There’s this place called the Dive, lots of local bands. There’s something this weekend. You should go.” He shrugged and handed it to Holly. “Just don’t use the bathroom, if you can help it.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Billie said from her stool. She was reading a dog-eared copy of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. The corners were mushy as if the paperback had been dropped in the bathtub. “Also I think the bouncer has rabies.”

“Ahh,” he sighed. Brian rubbed his forehead. “Nice contribution.”