“When she was texting me,” Viola went on slowly, “she was saying how unhappy she’s been for a long time and that for the first time in her life, she feels like she can breathe. But she’d never ever even hinted at being unhappy before that, so either I’m the worst friend in the world, or she’s the best liar.”

“What’s Stephen going to do?”

They were both quiet as they contemplated that. Rainy swallowed hard. “Maybe she’ll come back when she’s ready.” It was such a callous thing to say, but even as they spoke, she eyed the Ziploc bag from her past, resting on the hotel’s dresser; she hadn’t even started processing that.

Viola agreed. “You’re right, I’m just overly emotional and in hyper-mother mode. I’m going to step off this cause right now and take a bath.”

They hung up and Rainy decided to follow suit and take a shower. The guilt was gnawing at her, but she pushed it away each time. The hot water did little to calm her, and Rainy sat on the bed, wrapped in the hotel robe a few minutes later, staring at her phone.

She tried calling first, but her call was sent to voice mail. She left a short message asking Braithe to call her back, and then she hung up and texted, too.

Braithe, can we talk? It’s about you and Grant.

She felt sick even typing those words. Rainy hated confrontation and she wasn’t good at having friends. The people she’d hung out with in New York had been just as busy and distracted as she was; their meetups had included late-night dinners and gallery parties with people you knew but didn’t really know. She’d liked the simplicity of those shallow relationships: talking about art over seventeen-dollar cocktails, gossiping about a peer’s affair over sushi. No one wanted to know what your daddy issues were or where you were raised. They had been right now friends, and not one of them had contacted her in the year she’d been gone. The response from Braithe didn’t come right away; when it did, Rainy had to read it twice.

Why would you be asking me questions about your husband?

She stared at her phone and read the text again. Was Braithe making a jab at her, at the fact that Rainy and Grant weren’t married? It was confusing. Why would she call Grant her husband? She decided to answer using the same tone. When Rainy hit Send it felt good.

Probably because you’re still in love with him.