Bo materialized in my line of vision at the entrance to the stands, probably sent by Wallis to check on us. I gave him the universal sign for I need a minute.

“You know,” she continued, as I turned back to her, “it wasn’t simple before, my life, but it was straightforward. I knew the rules, at least. I hate what he did to us, but I miss him, so much. I miss him. And I know I’m not supposed to admit that to you.”

I’d been spending so much time on my own pain, I’d failed to truly comprehend hers. And she deserved her time to grieve, the same way Wallis and I had. Perhaps it had been easier to accept that Gregory was just cheating on her. The awfulness, in a way, was contained, centrally located in that house, in that beautiful parlor on P with the cream sofa and brass andirons. Though it hadn’t seemed like it, these last months had been just as much a strain on her as on us.

“That chapter of your life, in there,” I said, angling my head toward the field, the congresspeople on it, “is done. Yes, you’re not the senator’s wife anymore. But you have opportunity you didn’t before. You have freedom.”

She made a guttural sound. “I had freedom before. Thirty-seven years we were married. And most of the time I did what I pleased. Truly, I did. You know, Daisy, for such a progressive woman you have a really regressive view of me. I chose my own path, and I’m sorry that path doesn’t suit you, but it is what it is. The bargain we made with each other wasn’t terrible. Please don’t blame me for it.”

“I don’t blame you,” I said. I’d always known that Cricket was well-suited to be a politician’s wife; I just hadn’t understood how much she’d relished the duties of the role. I’d only seen what we’d had to give up as the family of a senator—namely, our privacy—and I’d failed to see what she had gained. “You kept our family together for as long as you could. I will never hold that against you.” She still appeared doubtful, so I looked into her troubled eyes. “I promise.”

She exhaled and shimmied her shoulders, as if shaking off a chill.

I tugged at the sleeve of her blouse. “Come sit with us. It’s a beautiful day. We’re right behind home plate. And I heard for the last inning they’re going to let that cute congressman from Texas pitch.”

“I’m a sight,” she said, patting the top of her hair even though there wasn’t a strand out of place. “I can’t go back in.”

“Do you think we care?”

“I just don’t want to embarrass you and Wallis.”