He threw up his hands and I saw water drip from his sleeves, but I refused to mention the possibility of anyone removing wet clothes. “She’s still deciding whether or not to go back to him, even though the boys miss their friends in Tuscaloosa and Vicky knows it. There’s a rumor that the girl who accused Professor Gasbag did it because of a failing grade in his class. The university has an official inquiry in progress. And with all that going on, the biggest consideration for her is that his agent is courting a movie deal for Noxious Gasbag’s third book, and it’s liable to drag on for a year or two. I’m sure Victoria has mentally spent all but a hundred dollars or so already.”

“And she wouldn’t get any of the movie deal money if they divorced.”

“Correct. Apparently we’re talking about a massive amount. Bigger than the professor’s circumference, even surpassing his ego. And that’s visible from outer space.”

“You know what? I’m really not in the mood for jokes right now.”

He turned to fully face me. “She’ll go back to him, and I’ve known that for a while. But I thought you should have some time to consider whether you’d be better off with someone else. That’s the truth. You’re very young, Ronni. You and I are at different points in our lives. And this thing with Victoria reminded me that she and I will always be connected. I don’t know if that’s fair to you.”

Where was this going? I stared at him and raised my eyebrows, determined to wait until he finished his little speech before telling him the things that that torn me apart for days.

“Ronni, you’re going to want children of your own someday,” he said, searching my face for a reaction. “I have the boys to consider...”

“Stop. Please stop. I don’t want to talk about this right now. Why the hell did you turn up on my doorstep if you were determined to break up with me? Are you already chasing someone else?”

“What the hell are you talking about? Where did that come from?”

“Victoria called me, Rick. She said she wanted me to know there’s nothing between the two of you...”

“There’s not,” he interrupted.

“Let me finish. She also said you have a pattern of chasing woman after woman. She said you’d put me on a pedestal, just like her, and then it would be on to the next one.”

I watched his jaw clench. “That’s ridiculous, Ronni, it’s not true. It’s typical manipulative, dramatic Vicky bullshit. I can’t believe she had the gall to...don’t you see what she’s trying to do?” He shook his head. “Vindictive bitch. After I let her and the boys stay there all this time while her idiot husband...”