A month had passed since he had met Amy in the park and forged an agreement that on the surface constituted one of the strangest love affairs in history. From the start, Amy had taken charge. If they were going to resume their relationship, she said, he had to get a place nearby where she could sneak out for a few hours and see him and their son. She insisted on an expensive apartment—four thousand a month, he was lucky he was a millionaire—near the beach in Malibu. The apartment did have one major advantage: he could pay month-to-month. He did not intend the current situation to last. Only until Amy was divorced and they could move away. That would be soon, she promised.

In most ways it was wonderful to be back with Amy. He had dwelled on her so long he had begun to think he had created a mirage of how she really was, good or bad. But the truth was that the two of them got along well, as they always had before the dark days. It was a weird observation to make about someone he had plotted to hurt for so long. It was also accurate. They seldom fought, and took pleasure in the simplest things: going for a walk with Jimmy, watching a DVD, making lunch. He had forgotten what an excellent cook Amy was. He had put on several pounds in the last four weeks.

It was a miracle for him to hold her in his arms again. Especially in bed, where she would love him with a fever she had always promised would happen one day. Touching her naked skin went beyond sex—it was a form of worship for him. No matter how much he kissed her breasts or ran his hands through her hair he could not get enough of her.

Yet, when she left to return home to David, he went through withdrawals. But then she would return—virtually every day—and the miracle would happen again. They made love every time Jimmy napped. It was as if the agony he had gone through had been worth it for the joy of seeing her again.

Plus, she was the best mother. Her patience with Jimmy was unlimited. To watch the two of them play together invoked feelings in him he had never experienced before: a feverish desire to protect and nourish; a pride that seemed to arise from the cellular level. He had been a father before Amy had returned to their life, but he had not had a family. The difference was greater than that of a straight line and a triangle. He contemplated the balance of the triangle as he sat near his child and girlfriend.

He contemplated it and he wondered.