"You gave us such a scare," she said -- her voice patient and measured even when dispensing criticism. Even she didn't seem quite certain who the rest of 'us' was, though. So she corrected: "I thought you knew better than to..."

She, too, let her attention drift to the wheel. And the solitude -- the privacy -- of its uppermost reaches. "Ride it with me, Davis. Ride it with me only once and hear me out."