“Yeah, and he inherited a bundle. I say he, because he kept all the money in his name. He said I wasn’t entitled to his parents’ wealth. We needed a new furnace and he said he wasn’t spending his money on it until it was actually dead. I pointed out to him that every year we keep pouring more and more money into it, to the point that it’s just throwing good money after bad. He said put on a sweater and don’t tax it so hard.”

“Nice. So, in some way, he was already distancing himself from the marriage?”

“Exactly. Then he lost a ton of weight. And he began coming home later and later. And taking more frequent business trips that now I suspect were monkey business.”

“You know, Leslie, I don’t care what consenting adults do in the dark.”

“Oh, I know that. Neither do I. It seems like half the world is gay or bi or trans something and it’s all fine with me. But I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect my husband to be monogamous.”

“Do you think Charlie is attracted to men? Or does he just want to do this impersonation thing?”

“I think Charlie is a little bit of a smorgasbord at the moment. Eventually he’ll settle down and figure it out. He’s not stupid. But he’s definitely not the guy I married. That’s for sure.”

“Well, I’m glad you came home. So is the queen.”

“Thanks.”

“You know people are going to ask. The gossip machine on this island is relentless. What do you want me to say?”

“Tell them I’m available!”

We cracked up laughing.

“No, I mean, what do you want me to say when they ask what happened?”

“Tell them we disagreed about our future together. That’s vague enough.”

“Come on. We’ve got to do better than that,” I said.

“Tell them I couldn’t get along with Charlene. How’s that?”

“Good grief!”

We watched as Archie’s car pulled into his driveway and the boys tumbled out. They waved at us and we waved back. I’d tamped my enthusiasm for Archie, but I blew a kiss to the boys.

“A dentist,” I mumbled.

“You know, you’re taking this lying down like a cheap rug. Where’s your fighting spirit?”

“What do you mean?” I said and thought, Oh, no, I’m not going to go make myself over and act like I think I’m a seductress.

“I mean, not that I’m such an expert in the ways of romance, as we know, but it seems to me that the woman picks the man. Not the other way around.”

“What are you trying to say? I don’t know if that’s true at all,” I said.