Sophia came in and looked around. Madeline apologized for the rickety stairs, the crappy apartment, the pathetic lighting on the landing. “The place is kind of a dump.”

“Don’t apologize for that,” Sophia said. “It kind of makes me nostalgic for college. Good times, you know? Simpler times.”

“You went to Vanderbilt, right?”

“I did. My mom’s a lawyer with a really big firm. She’s done well. Privilege, I know.”

“I wasn’t saying that,” Madeline said, although she had thought it. What would it be like to go to a school like Vanderbilt? And have your parents pay? And graduate with no debt so you could maybe buy a house or a car or take a vacation? But she didn’t really know if that was the case with Sophia. Madeline was doing what she always did—making a character biography of everybody she met. “I’m sorry. Do you want something? I think I have some tea. Maybe a little coffee. I don’t cook much.”

“It’s cool,” Sophia said, taking a seat in the recliner. “I won’t be long. And I’m sorry to just barge in when you’re studying.”

“That’s okay. I could use a break. Some of the guys write these stories for class. . . . I think they all believe our society is going to be taken over by sexy robots.”

Sophia’s hair was in the braid she always wore to yoga. Her oversized Commonwealth U sweatshirt hid most of her body. Madeline wondered if the sweatshirt belonged to Zach. Sophia crossed one leg over the other and jangled her foot in the air. She seemed nervous, not her usual calm self. And that made Madeline freaked. Madeline wished she did have something to drink. A cheap beer. Some shitty wine. Anything.

“I’m sorry to bring all this up, Madeline,” Sophia said. “I’ve just been wondering if everything went okay at the party after I left.” She looked down at her lap, played with the strap on her purse. She kept her eyes down when she said, “I know Zach and I talked to you when you first showed up. We only went because Lance invited us. We know a few Commonwealth graduates, people closer to our age who were going to be there. And Zach plays golf with Lance and hangs out with him sometimes. Lance likes to brag about these parties he has for students and recent graduates. And I know how Zach is. He has his issues, growing up without a dad. I saw the way he looked at you. It was the same way he looked that first night you met him at the Owl’s Nest.” She lifted her eyes then, fixed them on Madeline. They were watery. “So . . .”

She let the word hang in the air between them. Madeline thought everything hung on that word. An entire friendship. An entire marriage.

“Sophia, I don’t know what you’ve heard—”