Being in close proximity to Mateo Santiago was a stark reminder that just a few years ago, I’d had the companionship, even the love I’d never expected to find. And from what I can tell, finding love, then losing it, is like conquering a drug addiction. You never really stop wanting it; you only learn how not to give in to the craving. And sometimes you’re tested almost beyond endurance.

Leaving the house for a while seemed like a good idea, so I decided to visit my parents before I picked up my nieces. I wanted to find out about the resort in New Mexico, and I had another question, one I would have to edge into. Finally, as much as I hated to do it, since my parents owned the town house, I had to let them know there’d been an attempted break-in. Since they didn’t own me, though, I could fudge a little on my unintended involvement.

I stopped at the natural food store for bribes before I headed toward Gulf Sands. As I waited in a long line of traffic stalled by roadwork on the busiest stretch of the trip, I was still thinking about lost love. I remembered another trip to my parents’ house, with Teo in tow. Our relationship had blossomed quickly, from our first dinner together, to a day at the beach, to dinner at his little apartment in a blue collar suburb, and finally to spending every waking minute we could together, often in his magnificent king bed. I liked everything about him, even Bismarck, who was his constant companion. The only times we weren’t compatible were when John Quayle entered the conversation.

From the beginning Teo had made it absolutely clear he believed Quayle was guilty, and that the only reason he hadn’t remained in prison was legal manipulation. The state’s attorney had wanted so badly to get a conviction, he’d played fast and loose with the evidence. And now his failures had come back to haunt everyone.

I was less sure. I’d spoken to people who knew Quayle well and were sure he’d been railroaded. I’d talked to people who had testified in his trial who were now less sure about what they’d seen or heard. Of course years had gone by, and some hesitation was to be expected. But as yet, I hadn’t heard a thing to convince me he should have been arrested in the first place.

So Teo and I had agreed to disagree, and we’d left it at that. In no way had it affected our deepening interest in each other.

I knew that my mother suspected I’d found a guy. She’d nosed around a little, but the Graceys were devoted to the concept of personal space. If we had a family coat of arms, it probably featured a blindfolded woman in the center with one finger over her lips. When I didn’t volunteer information, neither of my parents pursued it.

After a month I finally asked Teo if he would let me introduce him to my parents at dinner. I knew the time had come. “Mom invited us, so I have to ask. I wouldn’t do this,” I’d promised, lounging on his bed, a sheet more or less draped over me after an afternoon of extraordinary lovemaking. I was watching him dress, before I got up to shower. “But they’re right here in town, and eventually they’ll get around to the third degree.”