Hope and Danny froze.

And Danny quickly turned toward the woman who had called to him and said, “Hey, honey!”

Hope felt the strange lightness leave her body in an instant. And it was replaced by a heaviness that she feared was going to bring her to her knees. But she managed to stay upright.

The same heaviness overcame Danny and replaced the lightness he had been feeling. And he felt more earthbound than he had ever felt. He moved toward the cement steps to the porch, trying to figure out how he was going to explain the situation.

“Everything okay?” chirped the woman.

“Yeah!” said Danny a little too loudly and clearing his throat a few times and chuckling oddly.

The woman had come out onto the porch. She smiled and waved to Hope. “Hi,” she said.

“Hi!” said Hope, smiling. And not meaning it at all.

“This is, um … this is…” Daniel tried to introduce Hope to his wife, Suzette. But couldn’t. And instead said, “This woman … just … needs directions.”

“Oh. Is everything okay?” The woman chuckled, uncertain of what to make of the tall, slim woman in the tall shoes and the chic clothes and the coat with the fur-lined hood who was asking for directions at a little after nine o’clock at night. “It’s a bit late for directions,” she said skeptically.

“Yeah, listen, Suzette.” Danny looked at Hope for a moment. And then back to his wife. And then back to Hope. And then he said to his wife, while looking in Hope’s eyes, “I’ll be right in, hon.”

“Okay,” cheeped Suzette.

“Thank you so much for your help, sir,” Hope said to Danny, trying to make it look like she had gotten the directions she needed—and trying to cover for the emotional indiscretions that had been committed.

“Where are you headed, sweetie?” Suzette spoke to the tall, slim woman in the driveway like she was a girl, because she presumed that Hope was much younger than she was. She would have been sad to have learned that Hope was actually a few years older.

“She’s just lost her way,” said Danny, happy to speak for Hope.

“Yeah!” Hope smiled, happy to have Danny speak for her.

“Oh.” Suzette didn’t quite know what to make of the strange situation she had found herself—and her husband—and the strange woman—in. And figured she could ask Dan about it later when he joined her in bed. “All right, well, I hope you find your way! Bye-bye, now.”

“Bye-bye,” said Hope.

As Suzette started to go inside, she nagged her husband gently, “Allie said it’s your move and she’s got you in check and Emma just called and said she’s gonna be later than eleven and you need to talk to her about that, because I said no later than eleven.”

Hope felt the heaviness again when she learned that Danny had kids—who were old enough to be playing chess and staying out until eleven.

“Okay, I’ll be right in,” said Danny.