“It’s hard to keep up with them. I just make it a habit to assume we’re on high alert all of the time. Anything specific?”

“Just that it’s something major, and there’s reason to suspect we’re talking the East Coast. Hopefully not Boston again but there’s a lot of chatter out there about it and also D.C.”

“Thanks for passing it along.” I look at him because I feel him watching me closely. “Is there something else? Because you look like you have a question. I can practically see it in a bubble over your head.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t say it.”

“And now you have to after a loaded comment like that.”

“All right. I’m wondering if it’s possible that Bryce is acting a little loosely wrapped because you are.”

“I’m loosely wrapped? I don’t believe I’ve heard that before. I’ve heard a lot of things including very vulgar things, but never that.”

“Let me ask you an important question. If Dorothy wasn’t suddenly coming to town, do you think the incident at Harvard Square would have happened?”

“No. Because I wouldn’t have had to bother with gifts or theater tickets.”

“That’s not the only reason, Kay. She’s coming here. She didn’t ask, she told, and as usual you accommodated. You paid for her ticket and even offered her a room in our house.”

“Which fortunately she declined because she’d rather stay with Lucy.” I feel anger rising like heat from a lower level of my psyche, a region of my inner self that I don’t approve of and might just hate.

“I have a feeling the person she’d rather stay with is Marino,” Benton says. “But only if he lived in a penthouse.”

I set down my glass too hard, and water slops over the rim. I watch the white tablecloth turn gray where the water soaks in. Then Benton uses his napkin to pat dry the mess I’ve made while I stare at him in disbelief.

“What are you talking about?” Noticing Mrs. P lighting a candle with an electric match several tables away, I try not to look upset.

I don’t want it to appear that I’m fighting with someone else. I realize how thin my skin is right now.

“I mentioned it when all of us were in Miami last,” Benton says as our waiter reappears with two glasses and the wine.