Carol pulled into Driftwood’s parking lot, found a space way in the back. We were a couple of seaside towns away from Marshbury, about halfway between Johnny and Kim’s house and the canned ham trailer. Driftwood looked like its name—reclaimed wood siding weathered to a salty gray inside and out, a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the harbor. The food was fishing boat to table, even this time of year. The clientele was a mix of upscale seasonal washashores, which we used to call summer bums back when we were kids, and more downscale townies splurging to celebrate a special occasion. The restaurant was understatedly expensive, the kind of place you’d meet someone to try to work things out if you were taking it seriously.

“Good choice,” Christine said. “This is definitely a makeup restaurant.”

“As opposed to a make out restaurant,” Michael said. “You know, high end.”

“Back to the action plan,” Carol said. “I mean, how long do we have to sit out here?”

“I didn’t really think that part through,” Johnny said. “I only got as far as thinking it would be good to have you guys here for reinforcement.”

“I say we go in and wait at the bar,” Billy Jr. said. “Maybe order a beer and some appetizers. We’ll be discreet.”

We all cracked up.

“Yeah,” Christine said. “Like Kim won’t recognize the sound of our laughter. I don’t think she was all that crazy about it even when you guys were getting along.”

“How about this,” Carol said. “We’ll wait out here for about fifteen minutes—”

“Or as long as we can take it,” Billy Jr. said. “That beer somebody mentioned is sounding good.”

“And then,” Carol said, “we’ll drive down the street to Jake’s Seafood. But one glass of wine and I’m out of there—I’ll still have to drive everybody back to their houses. When you’re done, ask Kim to take you home. Tell her you had a Lyft driver drop you off.”

“What if she says no?” Johnny said.

Carol shook her head. “Hmm. Maybe this time around you could actually get a Lyft driver?”

Johnny turned his head to face Carol. From where I sat, I could only see his profile, but even that looked pathetic.

“Fine,” Carol said. “Call me. If I’m still on the road, I might consider circling back.”

Johnny checked his phone. “Six more minutes and I’ll start walking in. I don’t want to be too early.”

“One question,” Christine said. “What do you want to happen? You do want to get back together with Kim, right? I mean, even after . . .” When she let the sentence trail off, we all mentally added the work husband.