“So where is she then?” Monica asked, her voice rising to an octave of panic. She hugged herself, and tears glistened in her eyes. “I’ve looked everywhere in here.”

“Don’t worry, baby. We’ll find Duchess. I promise.”

He could promise no such thing, but offering such automatic assurances to his wife was a habit, especially in her delicate emotional state as of late. It was his responsibility to be her rock, and if that meant lying to her sometimes, he was willing to do it.

In the walk-in closet, he threw on sneakers, warm-up pants, and a sweatshirt. As he dressed, he stifled a yawn. It was only half-past seven, earlier than he preferred to wake on a Sunday. Usually, Sunday was the only day of the week that he got to sleep in, while Monica and the kids, and oftentimes his mother, would go to a local church.

And after last night’s activities, he definitely could have used the extra recuperation time.

Those warm memories threatened to intrude upon his thoughts, and he had to force them out of mind and focus on the matter at hand: looking for Duchess.

He met Monica and his mother in the hallway outside of their bedroom. Mom looked upset, her jaws clenched with tension.

“Mom, what happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know, Troy. We’ve searched everywhere.”

“No one has looked outdoors yet,” Grace said, coming up the stairs.

Mom shot Grace a venomous look. “I told you, I let Duchess inside last night.”

“Can you look outside, sweetheart?” Monica asked Troy.

Troy barely heard her. He was studying Grace as she strolled toward them, trying to reconcile her appearance with the woman he had seen yesterday. Her hair looked different. He thought her complexion had changed too, become smoother and more vibrant, but maybe that was just artfully applied makeup.

But didn’t Monica look a little different, too? Was that gray in her hair?

He wished he could go back to bed. He felt as if he had awakened into a parallel universe, where everything was slightly askew from what he expected to see.

“Troy?” Monica said, in a sharper tone. “Can you look outside, please?”

He cleared his throat. “What about the kids’ rooms?”

“I’ve looked in both of them,” Monica said. She swallowed. “Outside’s the only place we haven’t checked.”

“Duchess would have barked if she were abandoned outside,” Mom said, “obviously.”

Troy was about to agree with his mother, but the tearful look Monica turned on him kept his mouth shut.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll look outdoors. In the meantime, I suggest we look under all of the beds and other furniture, too. The dog might’ve gotten wedged in somewhere. You remember she loved to crawl under the couch when she was a puppy?”

“Right.” Monica nodded. “Got it.”