“I should go back to the plant. I talked to Dave, Rhoda. He said to come back over here and talk to you and give it one more try. If you want to try this again then I will too.” He stood up beside the swing set, looking so old and so young, so worried and determined. My guilt over fucking Robert covered me like a pall. It spread up my arms and legs and into my face and I knew that at any moment I might confess and wait for him to kill me. “Let me make love to you,” I said instead. “I’m so terrible, Malcolm. I’m so crazy and I drink too much but I’m going to quit. I’m getting some Antabuse and I’m going to take it. I swear I am. I won’t drink anymore, ever. I swear to God I won’t. I want you to love me. I want so much to be good.” The children had stopped playing and come to stand between us. Little Malcolm was holding on to Malcolm’s legs and Jimmy was pulling on me. “Let’s try to get them to sleep,” I said. “Let’s take them inside.” I looked up into my husband’s face. Would anything ever make up for what I had done already? Could anything forgive and wash away my badness? I was so bad I’d be lucky if I lived another day. I picked up Jimmy and moved closer to Malcolm and laid my hand upon his cheek. “Please love me,” I said. “Please try to forgive me and give me another chance.”

On Tuesday morning Klane was back in my kitchen. Subdued, darkened, but back. The trial was set for late November, almost three months away.

“Are you okay?” I asked. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I guess I will,” she answered. “I guess I’m doing okay.”

“Everyone’s testifying for you. Edmund said everybody was on your side. There’s no way you’ll be convicted.”

“If I am, I’ll kill myself. I won’t stay in no jail.”

“You won’t be in jail. I swear you won’t.” She was putting her jacket in the closet. Setting her purse on the shelf. “Look, can you baby-sit for us on Saturday? The Havertys want us to go with them to their place up on the lake. Could you stay on Saturday?”

“What time?”

“Around noon. Until six or seven at night. Could you come then?”

“I’ll try. I’ll see if I can. How’s the baby doing?”

“He’s better. Go on in and see if he’s waking up. He’s been missing you. We’ve all been missing you.”