“No!” Vera shouted. “Don’t tell me that bullshit that you’re only half a woman and therefore not fit for any man. I won’t hear it. If you knew what I’ve seen in my life, you’d know how stupid that is.”

Cait got off the bed. “I’m sorry I dumped my small-town problems on you. You’re used to dealing with the whole world. But even if my problem is inconsequential to your worldly life, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell my father.”

“I will tell,” Vera said. “I’m going to tell Kelly and Adam and Jared and that vet of yours. You are not going to carry this secret around alone for the rest of your life.”

Cait squinted her eyes. “Like you never told anyone about my father and this place? You can keep secrets that affect other people but no one else can? You’re special because you got a big-deal prize for a book? You wrote about some news reporter but you should have written about my father, and yes, that’s what he is. He gave up his whole life for you and for me. No glamour, no bombs exploding, just pure unselfishness. That is real sacrifice!” She was shouting.

Vera smiled at her. “That’s better,” she said. “Anger is what you need. Good, self-righteous anger at the unfairness of life.” Her eyes softened. “Why don’t you come back here and tell me everything? From beginning to end. Then we can make rational decisions about what we need to do.”

Cait took a moment to decide. It was the “we” that got her. To not be alone with this was something she needed. She climbed back onto the bed. Sometimes it was easier to talk to strangers than to people you loved. “Jared and I were always friends,” she began.

Vera listened. Outside, the sun went down and Vera still listened. And Cait told her all the things that were jammed inside of her.

The next afternoon, there was a knock on Cait’s door, but she didn’t want to answer it. She just wanted to be alone to think about what to do with her life.

But the knocking continued. Reluctantly, she got up and went to the door. It was Coop, standing there with his hands behind his back. “I can’t talk now. I have things to do,” she said.

He moved his arms to the front. Each hand was holding a tall DQ ice-cream cone.

Cait smiled and opened the door to let him in. They sat down on the couch, side by side, but not touching. They began on their cones.

“Hear from your girlfriends yet?” he asked.

“I haven’t answered the phone, so I’m not sure.”

He was crunching a piece of chocolate. “Would it help if I told you I think you’re prettier than all of them? Including my greedy ex-wife?”