“Tom hasn’t been happy at all since I came home,” she said abruptly, during a short pause in the prattle. This was another part of her plan.

Shirley squinted, flicking her wrist so hard that her wineglass almost toppled. They were served their salads. When the waiter left, Shirley scrutinized Odilie once more. “What makes you say that?” She cut into her steak, the juices running bloody over the leafy greens.

“He’s been acting odd. You know how Tom is, always very regular. Doesn’t really diverge from his habits.” Shirley nodded. “He’s been more erratic recently. Maybe something happened when I was in Michigan.” She dived into her own salad. The sautéed shrimp tasted like wax, too.

“Are you going to confront him about it?” The blue cheese in Shirley’s salad was congealing in the juice from the steak.

Odilie paused for effect. “I’m not sure. You know, I just got home a few days ago. I haven’t wanted to spring anything on him.” Shirley nodded in agreement, finished off her wine.

“Well, I hope it’s nothing. The last thing you want to deal with is a man who can’t be alone for a little while. You need to be able to leave them without worrying that they’ll wander off, you know?” Odilie nodded in agreement, downed her water. Her tongue, too, was waxy, stuck to the roof of her mouth.

When Odilie got home she took a tour of her own house, the last day she would inhabit it with his scent suffusing it. She twisted the tassels on the curtains the interior designer he’d hired had forced them to buy, licked the wall with the hand-painted trellis and fountain. She scratched the surface of the stupid kitchen island Tom had insisted they have installed even though neither of them cooked. She stared for a while at the jagged groove she’d made with a long-handled knife in the marble, tracing it with the pad of her thumb.

When she was finished surveying the house, she took a glass of water and sat outside, in their back garden. It was such a lovely spring day. She didn’t even need a jacket. She could hear kids from the school down the street racing home, shouting at each other in friendly, carefree tones. Soon, Penelope would be back from swim class with the nanny. Soon, Odilie would be able to smell the chlorine coating her little girl that somehow lingered even after she was bathed.

Then she entered his office, leaving the door wide open, allowing the room one last breath of air.