The Good Girl

Colin’s contact tells him he can get him passports the day after Christmas. Colin doesn’t tell Mia yet. He plans for them to get the passports at the Chicago Zoo, and then drive north to Windsor, Ontario. Mia wraps her arms around him, and they flirt with each other. It’s clear there is love between them. Colin feels complete. He begins to pack their belongings, and on a whim carves “We Were Here” (323) into the kitchen counter. It will record their history and the ways they changed during those months. As Colin heats up dinner, he hears something outside.

In the cabin, Mia remembers the familiar moments she spent here: “Rainfall on the cabin’s roof […] Canoe scurry[ing] from room to room” (324). She smiles at the memory, but her smile fades.

Colin looks outside; there are at least six police cars parked beside the house. He wakes Mia, and she begins to panic. She grabs the gun and threatens to fight her way out. She doesn’t want it to end like this. Colin is strangely calm. He takes the gun from her hands. In that moment, lights flood the cabin, and Mia falls into Colin’s arms.