Something clicked in Vronsky’s head when Murf said it. It was like this little wheel in his head had been spinning and spinning, around and around, making him crazy. But Murf nailed the essence of what he was feeling. Home. The reason he needed to be near Anna was because something about her felt like home. “Murf, she’s killing me.” Vronsky spoke the words so softly he wondered if he had even said them out loud at all. “I’ve never felt this way about any girl before. I rode a motorcycle here for chrissakes. To a horse farm. What’s happening to me?”

“I know I’ve got a big mouth, but I’m not a bad listener when you catch me in the right mood.” Murf moved around a few bales so he could put his feet up.

Vronsky started talking, and Murf listened. It didn’t matter that the two boys hadn’t seen each other for half their lifetimes, or that they came from opposite worlds, Vronsky from the one percent and Murf from the poor part of Greenwich that no one even knew existed. For an entire season on the Greenwich Blue Jays they were inseparable: they shared the same team bench, shared a double-cheese pepperoni pizza after every game, cracked jokes, told secrets, and developed a friendship that could bridge any superficial gap between wealth and status. And this meant something to both of them, so it wasn’t such a stretch that they could share this here together again.

XVII

When Anna pulled into the stately circular driveway at the front of her house, her stomach slipped into a knot at the sight of Eleanor’s custom-hued, baby-blue Mini Cooper blocking the view of the garden. She racked her brain wondering if she had forgotten plans to meet her. She was admittedly distracted these days, so it was possible something had slipped her mind. She checked her iPhone calendar and was relieved to find nothing. Since missing Eleanor’s tea party after her all-nighter at 1 OAK, Anna hadn’t seen much of her boyfriend’s younger half-sister. Anna knew that Eleanor told people Anna was her best friend, but Anna had never once referred to Eleanor in that way, for the simple reason it wasn’t true.

What was true was that Anna spent way more time with Eleanor than she preferred, but as Alexander’s father’s daughter from his second wife they were together for every family occasion. So when Alexander was still at Brunswick (the brother school to Greenwich Academy) Eleanor would somehow always try to tag along, never thinking to ask if she was intruding. And now when Alexander came home once a month for the weekend to see Anna, it was oftentimes hard to find time alone together. Alexander stayed at his dad’s house when he came home, and Eleanor seemed to always be there.