Unknown to me, her husband's birthday was coming up. How could I know that it was going to save me again?

It was in the middle of the summer. I was on my way over to the neighbor's place just to visit at the end of the day. Billy hadn't had a steady job for years, but Mary Jo was smart, pretty, and gainfully employed as the real breadwinner of that family. No kids yet, but maybe down the road.

I walked up the drive, past more than one car that Billy was in the process of fixing, to one that had the hood up. Billy had his head down...