“No, I’m totally serious. You said he was good-looking.”

“That doesn’t mean I want to have sex with him.”

When Lina arrived home, Alice was alone in the Hunter house sautéing spinach. “One of the ladies from yoga was giving it out today, so I took some for you,” she said. “I’m cooking it all up so you can freeze it.”

“Should I make coffee?”

“Not on my account. I’ve given up caffeine. I want my body to find its natural circadian rhythm. How are you doing? Have you gotten over the affair?”

“Gotten over it? It’s been two weeks!” Her mother never ceased to amaze her. “I doubt I’ll ever be over it!”

“I was afraid of this when you told me, but you were so upset, I knew there was no point in saying anything.”

“Afraid of what?”

“That you would make this bigger than it is.”

“I don’t think I could make it bigger than it is.”

“Another woman is having his baby, so what? He isn’t leaving you. He’s still your husband. He’s still going to be your children’s father. No one’s dying.”

“You are the only person on earth who would downplay something like this.”

“It’s only bad if you say it is.”

“Well, I say it is,” Lina said, crossing her arms over her chest. “And I’m sure ninety-nine percent of the women in this country would agree with me.”

“Maybe that’s why we have such a high divorce rate—all these ridiculous expectations we hold people to.”

“I don’t think expecting my husband not to impregnate another woman is a ridiculous expectation,” Lina fumed. “I can’t believe I’m even arguing with you about this. Your thinking is completely warped.”

“Why, because it doesn’t line up with yours? Phil is a man, and a very virile man at that. I’m sure women are constantly offering themselves to him. He was bound to give in eventually. And let’s face it—monogamy is not natural. Why we hold ourselves to such a ridiculous standard is beyond me.”

“Maybe because we’re not animals.”

“Oh, nonsense.” Alice waved her hand forward. “We have so many rules and ideals. You can’t breathe without offending someone.”

“I happen to agree with some of the rules.”

“You were always so conservative,” Alice said. “When you played with Barbies, you were the one who always had to make sure Ken and Barbie were married before you would take their clothes off. You must have got that from your father.”

“How you can still bring that man up after all these years is beyond me. He abandoned us!”

“He didn’t abandon us. He moved to Chicago.”

“Without us. He left you with three young children. He barely saw us.”

“He supported us, and he’s still your father. Do you believe that’s just chance? He’s part of who you are. His DNA runs through your veins. He just wasn’t cut out for the whole family thing. He’s a brilliant man, your father. He was offered a tenured teaching position before he was thirty.”