Tim Jamieson grew comfortable in DuPray, imagining he might stay through the holidays and perhaps longer. His days formed a steady cycle: dinner at Bev’s, seven hours of night-knocker rounds, breakfast at Bev’s, a morning forklift shift at DuPray Storage & Warehousing, a simple lunch by the rail depot, and sleep in his over-garage apartment. On days off he slept long and read widely, favoring legal thrillers and the Song of Ice and Fire series.

Reflecting on his years in Sarasota, Tim contrasted that city’s hazardous night world with DuPray’s gentler version. He acknowledged how prior cynicism had damaged his marriage and narrowed his openness to having children. In DuPray, however, he found the night side restorative, anchored by small connections.

He regularly exchanged greetings with Mrs. Addie Goolsby, who sat evenings on her porch after losing her trucker husband, Wendell, in a Wisconsin blizzard. Deputy Frank Potter provided the backstory, noting the couple had married young and stayed together for decades.

Tim also befriended Orphan Annie (Annie Ledoux), a longtime local homeless woman who preferred sleeping on an alley air mattress near the sheriff’s office to a well-kept tent behind the depot. Deputy Bill Wicklow explained her routine and winter trips to a Yemassee shelter. Annie decorated her tent with three flags—including one from Guiana—and spoke amiably, if sometimes wandering into late-night radio conspiracies about UFOs and men in black cars.

Concerned for her safety, Tim checked Annie’s spots and brought her small treats from Bev’s. They shared a light moment over a jar of Wickles pickles that Tim opened for her arthritic hands. Annie expressed fear of the woods and bog behind the depot, citing wildlife and dangerous people, and said she stayed near the police when possible.

Another regular presence was Corbett “Drummer” Denton, the town barber and insomniac, who sat on his shop stoop at night. Their casual chats turned serious when Drummer expressed nihilistic views, calling life a “shadow play” and saying he would be glad when the lights went out. Tim suggested seeing Doc Roper for antidepressants and mentioned his ex-wife’s experience; Drummer rejected the idea, equating meds and intoxicants as temporary illusions that falsely make life feel real.

After Drummer departed, Tim worried Denton might be suicidal, even considering speaking to Sheriff John or Deputy Wendy Gullickson. He held back, not wanting to overstep his role as night knocker, yet Drummer remained on his mind.