Before Tully could answer, the door opened behind them again and Johnny walked out, holding a beer. Dragging another chair over to where they were, he sat down. The three of them formed a ragged semicircle in the grassy yard and faced the dark Sound. Moonlight illuminated the waves that lapped against the sand. “Has she told you yet?”

“What are you two, telepaths?” Tully said. “I was just getting started.”

“Actually,” Kate said, “she reminded me that she saw Chad a couple of months ago.”

“Ah,” Johnny said, nodding as if that explained Tully’s unexpected cross-country trip.

“What does that mean, ah?” she asked, irritated suddenly. It was exactly what Chad had done.

“He’s your Moby-Dick,” Johnny answered.

Tully gave him a look. “I never said a thing about his dick.”

“Come on, Tully,” Kate said, putting her hand on her husband’s arm. “What’s the matter?”

She looked at both of them, sitting so close together, a wife and husband who still laughed together and touched each other after so many years of marriage, and her chest felt tight with longing. “I’m tired of being alone,” she finally said. She’d held the words back so long that when they finally came out they sounded worn, as polished as beach stones.

“What about Grant?” Johnny asked.

“I thought you said Chad lived with a woman,” Kate said, leaning forward.

“This isn’t really about Chad. I mean, it is, but not in the way you think. He pointed out that I have a family,” Tully said.

Kate drew back. “You mean Cloud?”

“She’s my mother.”

“Biologically speaking. A reptile is a better parent, and they bury their eggs and leave.”

“I know you’re only trying to protect me, Kate, but it’s easy for you to discount her. You have a family.”

“She hurts you every time you see her.”

“But she kept coming back. Maybe that meant something.”

“She kept leaving, too,” Kate said gently. “And each time it broke your heart.”

“I’m stronger now.”

“What are you two actually saying? It’s like you’re speaking in code,” Johnny said.

“I want to go find her. I’ve got her last known address—I send money every month. I thought maybe if I could get her into a treatment program we’d have a chance.”

“She’s been in treatment a lot,” Kate pointed out.

“I know, but never with support. Maybe that’s all she needed.”

“I’m hearing a lot of maybes,” Kate said.