“He’d probably be okay with that. He’ll be in at one o’clock.” Bill thought, aha, the poor sucker works the late shift, a typical owner after all. Bill replied, “Well, I’ve got nothing better to do, it’s already 12:30 a.m.” Linda laughed. “Well, mister, if you want to wait here till after lunch tomorrow, that’s 昀椀ne with me, but I’d recommend you get some sleep 昀椀rst — besides, your ice cream will melt if you don’t get it home.” Bill was embarrassed. “Sorry, I thought you meant he was coming in at 1:00 a.m.” “No, Buck stops by around one in the afternoon every day. Don’t come real late, because he only stays for a couple hours — he only works 15 hours a week.” Linda saw Bill’s eyes open as wide as they could after a 20-hour day. “Now I know you’ll want to meet him.” “Well, I’ve de昀椀nitely got to meet Buck — tell him I’ll be here tomorrow.” Bill jumped back into his car, half elated, half guilt-ridden. It was late, his wife had been waiting up. When he got home, she was asleep. Before Bill could sneak into bed, Mary turned to him and said, “When are you going to stop doing this to yourself and everyone else?” Bill only said, “Maybe tomorrow. Maybe things will be different.” Sunrise came quickly. Before the kids woke, Bill was on the way to his store to prepare everyone for the day — this was going to be a big week. An entire week of sales promotions, lots of customers, it was going to be exciting. But when Bill came in, the mood was low. Janice was crying. She wouldn’t look at Bill. 11