“I wish you’d seen it, too,” Christina said.

“Mommy says we can come bring you dinner. Maybe soup.”

Christina was so surprised she couldn’t speak for a minute. “Sweetie, that’s so nice of your mother, but it’s not necessary. I wasn’t hurt. I’m fine. I’m just about to step into a long, hot bath.”

“Okay! Catch you later, alligator.”

“After a while, crocodile.”

She nibbled some cheese and crackers while she sipped her wine. Her phone buzzed again. Andy.

No. She couldn’t deal with him tonight. She wasn’t thinking clearly and she didn’t want to say anything foolish because she was so emotional. She left the phone on the kitchen counter and went upstairs to take a hot bath. But the idea of water, even hot, was suddenly unappealing. She pulled on her warmest pajamas and crawled into bed. In a moment, she was asleep.

Chapter 15

She opened her eyes to a new day. She fed Mittens, made coffee, and sat down to check her cellphone. It was dead. Of course it was, she hadn’t charged it at all yesterday or last night. She plugged it in and took a shower and shampooed and blow-dried her hair and put on fresh clothes while the phone was charging.

Back in the kitchen, she tossed blueberries on her granola and sat down to eat while she scrolled through the messages on her phone. Her good friend Louise had called several times. Mimi and Harriet had called several times.

Andy had phoned about fifty times. He’d also left several voicemail messages.

The first few were versions of “Christina, I hope you’re all right. I really want to speak with you.”

The next one was longer. “Christina, I’m afraid you got the wrong idea. I want to explain about Anastasiya. She wasn’t with me. We ran into each other on Main Street. She’s engaged to Wonk, who’s the running back for the Patriots. They’re visiting Belichick, staying at one of his guesthouses on his compound. She was headed for the Hy-Line to make reservations because the forecast is for strong winds so planes can’t fly. I was coming to see you, and we ran into each other. We had barely said hello when we saw you and then the pipe burst. Christina, you’re the one I care about. Please believe me.”

After that message, Christina shut off her phone.

Absentmindedly setting her cereal bowl on the floor so her cat could drink the milk, she leaned her chin in her hands and said, “Mittens, we have a lot to think about. I suppose what Andy said could be true. Okay, let’s just walk out on a ledge and believe that what he said is true. I mean, if he was back with Anastasiya, why would he tell me those things?”