“I guess.” She took a bite of muffin.

“I know Clarice went to see your husband for a consultation. Her personal assistant gives my assistant all her bills.” Barry sprinkled salt on his cream cheese. “Why would any intelligent person want to waste their life poking at those women’s skin? Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe he isn’t so intelligent.”

“Charlie’s very smart.” She put down the muffin. “He went to Princeton.”

“Fuck Princeton. I went to community college.” Barry spread lox over his bagel. “I guess being a doctor is just a lousy job to begin with. In a way, you’re a glorified nurse plus people can sue you right and left. And you’re always satisfying your clients. I take it back about being a nurse. It’s more like a glorified interior decorator. Am I being a son of a bitch?”

“A little.” She shook her head. “You’re forgetting about people like Jonas Salk.”

“Has your husband invented a vaccine I didn’t know about?” He smiled at her. “Should we finish our food and go take a walk on the beach and catch the sunrise so I shut up?”

“Yes, I’d like a walk.”

“You can like me to shut up, too. Sometimes I’m better in small doses.” Barry bit into his bagel.

Samantha took off her shoes as she climbed with Barry down to the dunes. Until Barry began speaking about doctors, she really hadn’t thought about what she’d tell Charlie. In truth, she wasn’t sorry she was missing his realization that she just wasn’t coming home. She knew that Charlie could be both self-destructive and self-pitying and she wasn’t very good at dealing with either. As she sank her feet into the sand, she decided that she loved Charlie but he deserved to find someone much more willing to focus on him.

As the sun rose, Samantha and Barry walked hand in hand along the beach.

“You know, we’re meant for each other.” He turned to her. “I know that sounds like a lousy line from a Julia Roberts movie, but it’s true.”

“I like Julia Roberts movies.” Samantha nuzzled his shoulder.

He looked directly into her eyes. “Look, if we don’t take advantage of finding each other, we’re as stupid as everybody else, and we’re not. I know we need to take this to the next step.” He touched her face and laughed. “Sorry, now I sound like a fuckin’ D girl.”

“What’s that?”

“A development girl.”

Samantha pushed up against his thigh. “I meant, what’s the next step?”

“Honey, we’ll work that out.” He kissed her hair. “It’s just procedural.”

“You make it sound so simple.”

“I love you, Samantha.” He pulled her closer. “I promise this won’t get boring.”

Samantha’s lip curled. “Oh, I can promise you that, too.”