“I haven’t even started. I’m skimming it for declarations of undying love and pondering the whole thing. Sometimes I think romantic love is only real half of the time. The rest is a chemical reaction.”

“Well, that’s depressing. How do I know if I just have magnificent pheromones?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? I’m starting to wonder how any of us know. Maybe you should call my book The Magnificent Pheromones of Violet.”

“Not catchy. I don’t like Everybody Smelled Her, either.”

Violet collapsed into laughter. “I do love you, Ronni.”

“I love you, too. Any particular reason this is on your mind?”

She sat back and crossed her arms. “Today is the anniversary of my wedding to the only man in my life who didn’t love me. I used to wonder why that happened.” She brushed at her skirt. “It’s a long story I’ll tell you someday. Right now you look exhausted and I’m not in the mood to talk about it.”

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ve been on for ten hours and I need some sleep.”

“Get some rest, honey.” She opened the book and began searching for her place as I walked away.

I closed the laptop and heard Rick come in a few minutes later. He poked his head into the room. “Thanks for the recipe. Did you think of anything?”

“Yes, I did, and it’s made me curious about her marriage. She never did say much of anything about Tolly, and I still haven’t read the journals in the bottom of the box, which should be about those years.”

“Why not?”

“ Because I have to break this into small pieces, Rick. If I read it all, I’ll get overwhelmed. I was trying to finish The Early Years with Johnny and Sam before piecing together her marriage.”

He’d nodded and said, “You’re the writer. You know what you’re doing.” I heaved an exasperated sigh at him. “But,” he added, “You can always come back to the earlier stuff. Might be a good idea.”

“Okay. But for now I’m helping you cook and we’re using lots of wine.”

He laughed. “Way ahead of you. There’s a glass on the counter.”

I should’ve been writing the next morning, but I found myself daydreaming about ways to spend the inheritance money. Every one of those fantasies included Rick, whether I willed it or not. I saw us together in exotic places; kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower, walking through the streets of Vienna at Christmas time, gazing at the chandeliers sparkling overhead. Neither of us had jobs anymore, of course.