The flirting, brief, was over. Heather was okay with that. At least Ghazi’s mood seemed to be improving. He had a supply of cash. He bought cases of beer, cases of wine. He bought veal and shrimp, the best. He picked out a new sofa for the living room. He hired some guy who replastered the kitchen ceiling and they drop-kicked the blue bucket out the front door. He bought her a hat he saw in a window. He bought himself a new pair of boots. He cooked for them. He baked pies and cakes. No more frozen, he told her. He was good at Italian—lasagna, manicotti—and better at Mexican. He was experimenting with Cajun. She tried to help out; he wouldn’t let her.

“Montreal was good to you,” she said, after dinner one night.

“Some ways,” he said, getting up to do the dishes.

“What was it like?” She moved to get up too, but he gave her a look and she sat back down.

“Terrible,” he said. On went his apron.

“Jobs, though.”

“No jobs.”

“But—”

“Let me put it this way. Do you know I saw up there one I went to school with—infants’ school. What do you call it here?”

“Elementary school.”

“In a coffee shop. Right there—boom!—we go into business together.”

“What kind of business?”

“Imports. A store of things from Indonesia, some African. Jewelry, mostly. Also exports. To the home country and to Pakistan; we try to get something going in France soon.”

“Maybe Mourad could get involved.”

“Not Mourad.”

“You are mad at Mourad.”

“No.”

“Yes. I feel it.”

“To be honest with you, I am not. Get me a beer,” he said. “Please.”

“Ghazi,” she began.

“Hey. You don’t have to say anything.”

“But I want to. I need to.”

He shrugged. “It’s up to you. But if you think I see anything wrong with you and Mourad, don’t think that. Seriously. Don’t think that.”

She poured some open wine from the fridge.

“I can see how this happened, from his place. You? Maybe harder to accept. Listen, things have been not good here. I know that.”

“He convinced me they were watching us.”

“Who was watching?”

“Hank Bridges.”

“He is crazy.”

“He said we had to pretend to be a couple or they would know we had lied.”

Ghazi smiled at her sideways. “That is good, very good. I did not think Mourad capable of this one.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

“Hey, whatever it was, or is, you have done nothing anyone could say anything against.”