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Dressed in casual clothes and Ray-Ban shades, Sarah and Leslie carried bags of merchandise through the town of San Miguel. Baked from a day in the sun, they blended well with the other tourists hunting for bargains among the local merchants who made their livelihood from the crowd of affluent visitors. Dwarfed by the cruise ships looming tall as high-rise...

With the benefit of an early leave policy and the nod from a generous boss, Leslie Chambers left the parking lot in the federal building on Constitution Avenue in time to see construction workers place orange cones along the center of the right hand lane. The effort slowed traffic in all directions, leaving her with no choice but to stay...

Leland started his morning shower with his arms above his head, palms pressed flat against the tile above the faucet handle. Hot water sprayed his head and back, cascading down his lean torso and legs toward the gurgling drain at his feet. He lost track of how long he’d been standing in the steady stream, only knew that the water...

Crammed in the last row of the standing-room-only section reserved for VIP guests, Melissa maneuvered around a pair of taller gentlemen gazing at the Jumbotron and the swooping television cameras above the sold-out space inside the Bridgestone Arena, where thousands of delirious, screaming fans enjoyed another Brooks & Dunn ballad. Caught in the rapture of live music, her life made...

Leland sat on the end of a metal bench near the back of the men’s locker room in the basement of the Bridgestone Arena. The spartan confines provided a place of solitude to ponder his own fate while big name acts ran sound checks with their equipment and the venue’s sound system before the sold-out show went live. Dressed in...

Melissa charged inside her foyer to find Sid playing Mozart on the grand piano in her music studio. She dropped her purse on the marble end table and yanked off her heels. Out of tissues and out of patience, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and disrupted Sid’s live performance with a firm, “Get out!” Sid...