Chapter 38: Questions from the Floor

The notice on White Pine's front door ran one line: CLINIC NIGHTS SUSPENDED. PHARMACY OPEN. Leon read it through the glass. "Bad news and a sales pitch. Efficient." "The pharmacy is not a consolation prize," Su said. "No," May said behind her. "It is rent." By seven every chair from the clinic and the upstairs kitchen was taken. Lan sat nearest the alley door in her black cardigan. Kenji had come straight from the restaurant with fryer oil in his sleeves and his wrist brace tucked under one arm. Reina stood against the wall, keys on their blue coil. Mrs. Dinh and her niece shared the space beside the sink, and Mrs. Dinh held an old remedy packet in both hands like a ticket. Mina Park stood by the alley door with her coat on. She had come to hear the answer a second time. Nathan Zhao waited beneath the…