I was careful to take the memory of the kisses, the touches, and even the laughter and store them away in a secret compartment in my brain the way Henry stored a treasured recipe in his gray folder that he kept tucked behind his good knives.

Chapter Four

When I arrived back at my New York apartment, a big pink carry-on stood at attention by the door. There were pieces of clothing draped on our sofa, all belonging to one of my roommates, Elizabeth Hoak. You never knew if she had gotten caught up in the throes of passion or if it was just a Tuesday and she had simply run out of time. She practiced law at one of those big NYC law firms and worked all sorts of ungodly hours for all sorts of wretched attorneys. I hardly ever called her Elizabeth. I gave her the nickname “Elle” because she looked like Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods in Legally Blonde.

Elle wore her hair long and blonde, carried a Tory Burch handbag, wore Tiffany sunglasses, finished first in her class at Washington and Lee, and was a barracuda in the courtroom. With all her attention to fashion and accessories, she was like a sister I never knew I wanted.

My other roommate was Regina Cunningham. She was an oncology nurse at Lenox Hill. I think her profession suited her because if you ever received a cancer diagnosis, you would be in excellent hands with Reggie. Yes, I gave her the nickname Reggie. She dispensed advice and hugs as freely and often as you would find our living room littered with items from Elizabeth’s closet. If Elizabeth was like a sister, then Reggie was like the mother I never knew I needed.

It was really the first time I had ever been around women. When I went to college at the New York School of Design, I begged Daddy for a place of my own. He and the boys thought it would be more conducive for study. The girls I attended high school with often made fun of me and of the food I brought for lunch as they passed my otherwise vacant lunchroom table for their crowded “popular” table. Fennel soup. Cauliflower soup. Pork belly. What’s not to like? In high school, I became accustomed to being alone and even lonely. In college, I studied and experienced life in New York City—a place infused with raucous sounds and brimming with people. I adored the smells, even the yucky ones. Living in New York and studying design finally broke the fever of loneliness and suffocating silence.

Being around Reggie and Elle was a delightful novelty. I routinely discovered their enchanting character traits. For instance, Elle carried a new designer bag almost every month. I learned that some of her cutting-edge fashion and handbags were from Rent the Runway. Regina, on the other hand, was very religious. She attended church regularly. Sometimes, she would leave a man behind in her bed and we were left to make small talk over coffee.