Key West is Neil’s idea, and Mara can’t think of a reason to refuse. She knows next to nothing about the Keys, only that it’s expensive to buy bread and no one cares if you show your tits.

Her plans for the weekend are small. She wants to get drunk, get a tan on her feet.

They eat. On Duval, they drift into one of the cafés that’s in the business of key lime pie. The pie comes in just two varieties, with meringue or without. Mara chooses without. Meringue makes her think of the cafeteria she and…