“Beth already hated her from the moment she met her,” I answer peevishly. But maybe I just don’t want to hear what he has to say next.

“You know Beth. She doesn’t only listen to her gut. She does her research. That’s why you know she’ll be a good lawyer one day. She remembered that Anneliese mentioned that her brother-in-law is a junior partner at Cantwell & Susskind, and she has some connections there. She went to summer camp or some shit with the paralegal who works directly under him and asked her if she knew anything about Anneliese moving back to town, what Caleb thinks of her staying with her sister and the kids.” I lean back in my chair, waiting for the inevitable blow.

“Apparently this paralegal had heard countless arguments over the phone with Caleb and his ex-wife last year. He didn’t want Anneliese to move in with them. Apparently she has a history of mental illness. Goes off her meds a lot. Isn’t good at taking care of herself in that way. He was worried how safe the kids would be around her.”

I’m about to interrupt, but Gavin holds out his hand.

“I think things have quieted down with all of that, though. This friend of Beth’s said there hadn’t been any fights about it in the last few months, that he seemed to be happy with how Anneliese was caring for the kids. But I just thought you should know.”

My half-eaten chicken carcass suddenly looks grisly, and I resist the urge to push the bowl away. “It sounds like Beth is just stigmatizing someone’s mental health issues. Or a man is calling a single woman in her forties crazy. Haven’t heard that one before.” But that one time I met Caleb springs to mind, his worry for his children, how he interrogated Anneliese about their well-being.

A small sigh escapes Gavin’s lips. “I know you don’t believe it, but Beth cares about you. She wouldn’t have passed along this info if she didn’t. She thinks Anneliese has some kind of hold on you, but you have to understand she’s not faulting you for it. She’s just concerned. She wants to make sure you’re safe.”

It’s irking me that these two have been spending time with each other at all, that somehow in my absence they’ve surpassed the threshold of acquaintanceship and have sidestepped their way into friendship. But another, smaller part of me is delighted that they, Gavin especially, care enough to worry, to talk about me with each other.

“Just please give her a call. She’s not trying to be condescending or talk down to you or anything like that. She’s just following her instincts, like you’re doing right now. She really does care about you and wants to be your friend again.”