In front of him sat a book with an audacious title. The Creative Class . He had tried reading it. But unlike that one customer who sat like a stone in that chair all night... Joey hadn't read more than two pages. The two pages he did read he didn't...

His days moved slow since the explosion. Still avoided the desert. He avoided running into people he knew. Avoided getting to know someone too well. Being a ghost had been his preference. A fact unobvious to him until he fell into enjoying someone's company.

He caught himself waiting by the...